Vengeance is Beautiful
by sofia.estrella
Summary: James and Harry are dead; Lily was spared. Grief-stricken but determined, she sets out to avenge their deaths. Alternate Universe
1. Halloween Night

It was the small moments like these that made the months of incarceration feel less tedious.

Harry and James were in the living room, already inseparable, entertaining each other. James shot puffs of colorful smoke from the tip of his wand. Harry watched in wonder and clapped his hands, giggling happily while he tried to catch the smoke. Lily leaned against the wall and observed them, an easy smile on her face. For a moment she forgot that she had been confined to a small house for over a year, with few distractions. But Harry was a Godsend. His first steps, his first words, his first birthday… all very welcome distractions—from the flow of bad news they could do nothing about; from the monotony of house-arrest…

James glanced up from his son, and smiled at Lily, having just noticed her presence. She crossed the room and stood near the couch. Harry stumbled and fell over backward on the floor. James chuckled and helped him back to his feet.

"Harry needs to go to bed," Lily murmured. She didn't know why she felt this to be important: Time bore little meaning now. Everything moved at such a slow pace. Days crawled by, but they passed nonetheless. And for some reason, keeping a schedule seemed important to her.

James frowned briefly. Harry was trying to pull James's wand from his wand. James resisted and it turned into a gentle game of tug-of-war.

"He can stay up a little longer."

"Tomorrow's another day," Lily said softly, rising from the couch. James sighed and hoisted Harry up and passed him off to Lily. It seemed like he was getting heavier all the time.

Harry reached out toward James's wand, which lay on the couch. He made a small whimper and tried in vain to grab it, almost squirming out of Lily's grasp.

"He likes your wand," Lily commented, bouncing Harry on her hip to calm him.

James nodded absently, reclining back on the couch and yawning widely.

"Well, I'll put him to bed now." Lily started toward the stairs, when a sound stopped her. She froze and looked over to James.

"Was that the…?" she began.

"The door?" he finished, nodding. "I think so. Let me check. Probably Padfoot…"

James stood up and went off in the opposite direction of Lily.

"I'll be right back," she called after him. Lily started up the stairs. Harry was quickly nodding off now, heavy in her arms. Suddenly there was a shout from behind her:

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"*

James's voice. Lily froze in her tracks. _Him?_ That could only mean one thing, but she didn't understand… she couldn't accept it. There was the sound of cruel, cold laughter, and then… Lily's heart stopped.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

The voice wasn't James's this time. His wand was still lying on the couch, after all. Lily realized what was happening all at once. She regained control of her body and sprinted up the stairs and down the hall and into Harry's bedroom. She slammed the door behind her and felt the panic rising in her chest.

Where was her wand?

Downstairs. In the kitchen.

Lily's breath was coming in ragged gulps as she plopped Harry down in his crib. He looked up at her with wide eyes. Seeing no other option, Lily began shoving furniture against the door—she knew how hopeless it was. Not completely aware of herself, she screamed at the top of her lungs, pulling at her hair and pacing the floor of the nursery. How could this have happened to them?

But no one would hear her. And if they did, it was Halloween: Random screams and shrieks were not unusual tonight.

She was trembling. Her chest felt constricted. She scooped up Harry again and held him close to her. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for only a moment before hearing pounding at the door. A second later, it burst open, the haphazardly-made barricade crumbling. Lily spun around and replaced Harry in the crib in one fluid motion. She stared at the tall, cloaked figure before her. A white hand gripped a long, dark wand.

Lily threw her arms wide across the crib. "Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"*

Voldemort moved closer to her, the wand extended. "Move aside, you silly girl… stand aside now."*

Lily shook her head vigorously, the tears beginning to brim her eyes. Of course, they would both die. But it was worth a shot. She continued pleading with him to spare her son.

The cloaked figure was only inches away from her now. She could see under the hood—a terrible pale face, like it hadn't seen the light of day in years; eyes glowing with murder; bared teeth…

Voldemort tried to shove her away from the crib, but she clung to it. Harry was silent behind her, like he wasn't even there.

He ordered her to stand aside again and again, but she wouldn't.

He shoved her again forcefully, but her will was stronger. Voldemort was quickly losing his patience—his wand twitched in his hand. Lily faced death, flinging herself between her child and this monster. The monster tried one last time—Lily wondered why he went to any trouble at all to spare her. What did her life mean to him? What did any life mean to him?

As Voldemort shoved at her shoulder, Lily had a terrible thought—the kind she would keep locked up in a prison of shame inside her head and never let out again.

_She didn't have to die._

She could save herself.

In that critical moment, Lily felt that ancient, selfish instinct—the desire to live. But she only deliberated for an instant: It was too much to bear, thinking of her child dead and herself alive. She was ready to recommit herself to her sacrifice, after only a split-second of temptation.

But her momentary hesitation was all it took.

A flash of green light blinded her, but it clearly went past her, behind her. And she was still alive, though she knew immediately this was not a relief. Because there had been a Killing Curse. Someone was dead. And if it wasn't her…

Lily was moving through a dream. As she whirled around, stumbling over her feet, she heard a loud crack from behind her. Voldemort was gone—Disapparated. She fell over the crib. The wood was cracked and blackened—hot to the touch. The blankets were singed.

And there was Harry. He appeared untouched—whole and unscathed. Just tipped over in his bed. Tipped over and not moving. Sleeping, maybe. Sleeping with his eyes open. His green eyes.

Lily told herself these lies. Her baby boy was sleeping—only sleeping. But this contradicted another overwhelming thought:

_It's all my fault._

She couldn't connect these two ideas in her head. Harry was asleep and it was all her fault.

Lily reached out her hands toward Harry—he shouldn't be laying in the demolished, smoking crib. But when her fingers met the skin of his arms, she recoiled. He was already cold. Stone cold. Ice cold. As cold as… death.

Lily's breath was painful as she clambered out of the room and down the hall and the stairs. The world was foggy and lethargic, like in a dream. A dream that was fast becoming a nightmare. She staggered past the couch, determinedly averting her eyes from where she knew James's wand still was. She rounded the corner, toward the front door and she collapsed to the ground immediately.

James was lying spread-eagle on the floor mere inches away from her. She stared at him until her vision became blurry, as if she was underwater. Her nose was burning and she felt like she was choking. Hot tears were streaming down her face.

Then she let out the most terrible wail. The sound of it scared her. She couldn't believe she had made such a sound. Assuming the fetal position on the cold floor, she rocked back and forth. She was made of misery. She was misery.

"James," Lily sobbed. Her voice was thick with despair and grief. She felt like she might pass out—or die. Like she should've in the first place. Because she should've died. How was it that her biggest regret was being alive?

Her sobs came slower, less violently. She risked a peek at James. She only saw his profile—long nose, crooked glasses, eyes staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. Lily could hardly recognize him. He had always been so full of life. Now that the life had left him, he seemed to be a different person. His flaws were more visible—the blemishes, the asymmetries—as if his raw liveliness had covered them up before.

Maybe Lily could pretend she still hated him. That would make things so much easier.

But she couldn't remember what it had been like to hate him. She doubted she ever really had. How could anyone have hated James? Anyone who actually knew him, at least.

Lily was quiet. She had no more tears. No more energy. She dragged herself up and sat against the wall, staring at James until she couldn't bear it anymore. Standing up required a great effort—she paused to catch her breath. Her breathing was unsteady, tremulous.

Walking the few steps to the door was a journey. It took all her willpower to not collapse into a helpless, blubbering heap on the floor. There was a time for that. Now was the time to get help. Lily's hand was shaking so badly she could hardly secure a grip on the doorknob. After a time, she managed to turn it and open the door slowly. Each movement was something she had to do. And she had to put her entire being into every task. She couldn't allow her mind to wander.

The night was cool. A breeze stirred up crisp leaves and nipped at Lily's nose. She hadn't set foot outside the house in… a very long time. There were a few stragglers, trick-or-treaters, roaming the streets: Muggles, completely unaware of her trauma. Her burden. And her guilt.

Lily sat down on the lawn, not knowing what else to do. Who was she planning on getting help from? And how could anyone help her at a time like this? The ground was warmer than the air, though a delicate layer of frost was beginning to form on the grass. The stars were dim overhead. Only the very brightest were visible through the dark clouds. The moon was a sliver in the sky—barely there at all.

In her stubborn denial, Lily allowed herself a moment.

She had only come out on the lawn late at night. She had crept out of bed while James slept. Harry was also sleeping soundly in his room. Any minute now, the front door would open and close. Lily wouldn't turn around, but continue to gaze at the sky. James would sigh as he sat beside her, his knees cracking as they always did.

They wouldn't speak to each other. They didn't have to. She would only lean against his shoulder. He would stroke her hair, and hum a song she didn't recognize. Maybe they'd fall asleep in the grass and wake up the next morning, coated in dew…

Lily was forced out of her fantasy by a rather loud sound. A familiar sound, but she couldn't place it…

She leapt to her feet, her heart beating wildly. There was a figure at the edge of their lawn that wasn't there before. Lily realized she still didn't have her wand, and wondered if the person had seen her in the dark.

"Lily?" called the figure, as he started toward her.

She paused as the shadows lifted from the man's face.

"Sirius," she croaked. That was all it took—she broke down again, sobbing inconsolably.

He allowed her into his arms, clearly confused as she cried on his shoulder.

"Lily, what's wrong?" he said gently.

"James… and—and Harry," she choked out, all but incoherent.

Sirius carefully drew away from her so he could see her face. "What about them?" he said tensely.

"They're—they're…" Lily couldn't finish, but she saw the comprehension dawn on Sirius's face. He blanched and his hands began to tremble.

"They're dead," he whispered, not framing it as a question.

Lily wailed in answer. Sirius was unresponsive as she sobbed into his shirt. His eyes were distant, and his face impassive. Then he swallowed hard, and Lily saw his face harden and his jaw clench.

"Voldemort," he hissed.

Lily nodded miserably.

"And… and Pettigrew," he spat, his hands forming into fists.

Her tears ceased for a moment. She hadn't thought of Peter, their secret-keeper. But of course—he was the one. The traitor.

"Sirius," Lily said softly, knowing that he was switching to uncontrollable-rage mode.

"I'm gonna kill him," he muttered, looking quite unstable as he clasped and unclasped his hands.

"Sirius, you—"

"He betrayed you, Lily!" Sirius shouted, his voice cracking.

"Don't—" she tried.

"It's his fault! His fault that they're dead!" This time Sirius's voice didn't give away his grief and desperation. But there was a very particular shine to his eyes.

"Listen to me," Lily begged, clutching his arm. As they stared at each other, a tear slipped from each of their eyes. Sirius hastily wiped his away, but Lily let hers track down her cheek to the corner of her mouth.

"I'm gonna kill him," Sirius said in a tone that suggested that whether he wanted to or not, it was just a fact. He was going to kill Peter. He had little choice in the matter.

"You can't," Lily breathed.

"I have to," he said evenly.

"Not yet," she whispered. "Take some time to… cool off. To think rationally."

Sirius blinked out another tear, which he didn't dry as it trailed down his face. He nodded helplessly. Then, by some unspoken agreement, they both broke down in sobs, falling into each other in the lonely night.


	2. The Secret Keeper

Lily had never realized how accurate the stages of grief were.

She had been in denial for an unhealthy amount of time. She simply refused to admit to herself or anyone else that James and Harry were dead. She pretended to not understand why everyone was bringing her casseroles and sympathy cards. And flowers. And sad smiles and hugs and tear-filled eyes… Why did they keep apologizing to her? What 'loss' were they talking about?

It wasn't until the funeral that it really hit her: James and Harry were dead. They were each lying in a casket, side by side, at the front of the church. James's face was smooth and powdered, his hair combed like it never had been in life. His hands were folded across his chest. He was wearing his best suit—his only suit—and the wedding ring. He never liked to wear the ring. He wore it for maybe a month after the wedding, then admitted he didn't like wearing rings. Lily was alright with it—for most of their marriage they were locked inside the same house, anyway. That was more than enough bondage.

Harry was harder to look at. His skin was pale and surely cold to the touch though Lily dared not touch him. His casket was so tiny. It wasn't right. No casket ought to be so small. No one so young ought to die. Lily should have died. Then there'd be three caskets at the front of the church, but at least she wouldn't be here to see it.

_If I die, maybe Harry and James could be alive. Somehow. _

Lily caught herself: _I'm bargaining again… Damn five stages_.

She could imagine nothing worse she'd ever have to experience than the funeral. So many people. The sound of quiet words, and sniffing into tissues. Dabbing at eyes; running mascara… It seemed like everyone from Hogwarts was there. Even a couple professors—she'd expected Dumbledore to come, but McGonagall and Slughorn, too? It was like a class reunion. Lily wanted it to be over. Not near this many people had attended their wedding…

Trying to stay hidden was impossible. People sought her out. They embraced her and said the same words over and over; _I'm so sorry, Lily. So sorry. Is there anything I can do?_

Lily would muster up a brave smile and tell them no, there was nothing they could do, but thanks anyway. Leaving her alone would be nice, but she wasn't about to say that out loud.

And when she thought it couldn't get any more miserable, the ceremony started. She sat in the front, between Sirius and Remus. The last Marauder was conspicuously absent. The elephant in the room—no one spoke of Peter.

Sirius got up to say some words at the podium. He gripped the edges of it until his knuckles turned white and stared at his paper, clearing his throat for a very long time. Then he sighed, and muttered under his breath. Unfortunately the microphone picked it up:

"Merlin, I can't do this…"

Everyone pretended to not have heard. Sirius roughly crumpled the piece of paper and shoved it back into his pocket. He stared out at the crowd for a while. He opened his mouth and closed it a couple times, before he was able to begin.

"I met James in my first year on the Hogwarts Express." His voice was shaky but growing stronger. "We were best friends right away. We grew up together and went through everything together."

Sirius had given up looking out at the audience and was clearly just trying to get through this, his eyes shut tightly as if against pain.

"Everything," he repeated, forcing an odd laugh. "And I'm honored that he chose me to be Harry's godfather. Our time with Harry was much too short, but I know he was going to be just like James. And… and I don't know if James ever really knew how much he—"

His voice broke and he let out a strangled gasp. Drawing in a deep breath, he tried again.

"I know I didn't say it enough, and probably never in these exact words, but… I love you, Prongs."

Sirius's face was set, emotionless, as he left the podium and returned to his spot beside Lily. It was all she could do to not start bawling as he gave her a solemn nod. There was something wrong with his eyes—something broken…

Remus got up next, and, without looking up once, began to read from a piece of paper. His voice was weak and monotone.

"James's friendship meant more to me than I could ever say. As I'm sure you all know by now, I'm a werewolf. When I first found friends in James and Sirius, I was afraid to tell them because I thought they would abandon me. But it didn't take them long to figure out why I kept disappearing every month. And—and they didn't abandon me. Not by a long shot. In fact…"

Remus faltered and shook his head, still staring at the paper in his hands.

"In fact, James used to say—"

The words seemed caught in his throat. Remus dropped his speech and leaned forward, burying his face in his palms. It was obvious he couldn't go on. As he returned to his seat, the minister rushed forward and picked up where Remus left off, reading the words. It was an incredibly well-written and moving speech, but it was almost meaningless with the minister reading it. He didn't know James. Lily noticed that Remus had deftly avoided the sensitive topic of Peter, and also failed to mention the unregistered-Animagi situation that was always the best part of the story.

Nonetheless, there wasn't a dry eye in the place by the time the minister had finished reading it. After a few more prayers and other such formalities, they filed out of the church, and to the nearby cemetery. Lily looked on helplessly as the two people she had loved more than anyone else were lowered into the ground.

Over the next couple of weeks—it may have been months; she couldn't tell anymore—Lily lived. That was basically all she did. She didn't eat, except when forced to, and couldn't sleep more than an hour or two at a time. She found it impossible to believe the world would go on—that life would go on. People always said that's what it felt like when someone died, but that life when on anyway. Lily didn't see how it could. She didn't want it to.

She wallowed. She stared out of windows and at walls. She lost several pounds. There was nothing worth doing. Not anymore.

"It's all my fault," she said one day, watching the first snowflakes of the season begin to fall. Until now, her guilt had been a private obsession. Sirius glanced up from the latest casserole—he'd been staying with her off and on, if only to take care of her.

"What'd you say?"

"It's all my fault," Lily repeated. The snow wasn't sticking. It melted as soon as it touched the ground.

"Don't say that," he said evenly, plopping a plate in front of her. "Eat."

Lily shoved the food away. "I'm not hungry."

"I don't care. You have to eat something."

She crossed her arms stubbornly.

"I let you get away with this at dinner last night. But not now—you're going to eat something."

Lily sighed and took one forkful of the casserole. It was tasteless and mushy. She forced it down her throat and pushed the plate away again.

"Damn it, Lily," Sirius snapped, suddenly transitioning into agitation. "You're not the only one having a hard time with this."

She blinked in surprise. "It's worse for me, because it's my fault. Would you like to live with that?"

He stood up abruptly, his chair falling away from his with a crash. "How the hell is this your fault?"

Lily was unaffected by his anger. It seemed to be his favorite stage of grief. "I should've died. But I didn't. I didn't die for Harry."

Sirius looked at her incredulously, a muscle in his cheek twitching. "Would you like to tell me how things would be better if you had died? If all three of you had died? Everyone is glad that you're alive. No one blames you."

"But if I had died, then maybe—"

"Maybe what? They'd be alive?" Sirius interrupted. "No! You'd all be dead. And then I'd have your blood on my hands as well."

Lily was caught off guard. "What are you talking about?"

"It's my fault, Lily. More than it is yours, anyway."

"How is it _your_ fault?" she asked in exasperation. "You're such a hypocrite, telling me that it's not my fault, and then going and saying—"

"Who insisted you make Peter your secret-keeper?" he said quietly.

Lily stopped arguing and stared back at him. "But you couldn't have known that he—"

"It doesn't matter what I 'couldn't have known.' I still have to live with that."

They stood in the silent kitchen, looking everywhere but into each other's eyes. Lily turned back to the casserole and took a few more dutiful bites, willing herself not to throw it back up as soon as she swallowed it.

Sirius finally broke the silence. "I'm going to go now. You know where to find me, but I'll probably be back in a couple days. Take care of yourself, Lily. Starving yourself isn't going to solve anything."

He walked past her and paused behind her chair. He put a hand on her shoulder gently. She didn't react. After a moment, he bent down and kissed the top of her head before ducking out of the front door.

Lily spent a lot of time thinking as she continued her hobby of blankly staring at walls for the next day or two. She hadn't really thought before, just… stared. And wallowed. Always wallowing. In guilt, self-pity, misery, despair… but it was all slowly mixing together to anger. She broke things and screamed into pillows, soaking them with hot, angry tears. And through it all, Lily came to a decision. It seemed she had found something worth doing.

She showed up on Sirius's doorstep late at night. It took him a long time to answer her knocking. He opened the door and peered out.

"Lily?" he mumbled, letting her in. His face was unshaven, his hair messy and greasy, sticking up in all directions, his eyes were bloodshot—the stale stench of alcohol hovered about him like an aura—and his shirt was stained and wrinkled.

"I've been taking care of myself," Lily said irritably. "Couldn't you have returned the favor?"

He shrugged. "Never mind that. What's the matter?"

"Nothing, nothing," she said. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm ready."

"Ready for what?" he grunted, rubbing his eyes.

She inhaled deeply. "I'm ready to find Peter."

The alley was empty, except for Lily and Sirius. They stood side-by-side in dark cloaks, wielding their wands.

"He's here?" Lily whispered, as they began creeping down the alley, obscured in shadows.

"Should be," Sirius answered, stopping suddenly. He held out a hand for her to stop. They both held their breath.

Ahead of them a ways, there was a small man. He moved down the alley, shadow to shadow, glancing behind his shoulder nervously every couple of steps. Lily tightened her grip on her wand. She felt Sirius tense beside her. He beckoned her forward. They started off slowly and silently but only got so far before the man stopped dead in his tracks. Lily and Sirius stared at him, and he seemed to recognize them. The fear on his face deepened.

Peter whipped out his wand, but Sirius immediately disarmed him. He and Lily moved in closer, while Peter backed up against the wall, trembling. The sheen of sweat was on his brow.

"L-Lily… Sirius," he stammered, smiling weakly. "S-sorry I missed the funeral, I—"

Peter choked as Sirius shoved the tip of his wand to Peter's throat.

"No more games, Wormtail," Sirius hissed, forcing Peter's head against the brick wall.

"Wha—what?"

"Admit it," Sirius ordered, his eyes flashing dangerously in the dim alley. "Admit what you did."

"I don't know what—" Peter began unconvincingly. He was silenced by Sirius's wand, which was digging deeper into the skin under his chin.

"You sold the Potters to Voldemort," Sirius said. "Didn't you? You killed James and Harry.

"I didn't mean to—I didn't _kill_ them—I didn't know!" Peter wailed, pulling helplessly at the wand that pinned him to the wall, trapped him.

"I said _no more games_," Sirius growled, using his left hand to slam Peter's head into the building behind him. Lily made a small noise of protest, which he ignored.

Peter moaned and began blubbering incoherently. "Please… Sirius… Don't… I didn't… _know_!"

Sirius grabbed Peter by the front of his shirt and yanked him forward so their faces were only inches apart, though Sirius was a whole head taller.

"I should kill you," he said in a voice barely audible though full of venom. Then Sirius threw him back against the wall. Peter crumpled to the ground.

Lily, who had been watching the confrontation quietly, piped up. "You shouldn't, Sirius. Not now… not ever—he's not worth becoming a killer. He can rot in Azkaban."

Peter let out a stifled howl. Sirius kicked him, and he fell silent.

"Today's your lucky day," Sirius said bitterly. "Now stand up."

Peter remained on the ground.

"Get up," Sirius commanded, kicking him again. Suddenly, something about Peter's hands changed. They were shrinking. So were his head, and—his entire body. It happened so fast, Lily didn't realize what was going on before it was too late. Sirius was a little quicker on the uptake and began firing curses at the fleeing rat. But it slipped behind a dumpster. Sirius blasted the dumpster away. The rat was nowhere to be seen in the dark alley.

Sirius continued whirling around and hurling curses in every which way, swearing loudly between each one. Finally, Lily caught his arm and tried to calm him down.

"Sirius! Sirius! He's gone."

He shook his head and tried to break free of Lily's grasp. She held on tighter.

"It's okay," Lily said softly. "We'll get him next time."

Scowling, he turned away from her. "I just wanted to…"

"I know," she said, nodding. "You wanted revenge. I want it too."

Sirius looked back to her.

"It makes me feel better, doing something," Lily admitted. "And, I… I want to avenge their deaths. I won't stop until I do."

His smile looked like a disoriented frown. "How do you plan on doing that?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "But I will. Or I'll die trying."

"You won't die going after Wormtail," Sirius scoffed.

"I'm not talking about Peter," she said slowly. "I have to go after someone else."

She saw her words' meaning register in his eyes. "Lily, you can't—"

"I can. I'm going to kill Voldemort."


	3. Horcruxes

The Hogwarts castle was just the same as when Lily last saw it. She took her time walking across the grounds and toward the school. The memories came flooding back to her… she could feel their ghostly presence everywhere she looked. There, by the lake—where a deteriorating friendship came to an abrupt end in her fifth year. And not too far from there—where James had first kissed her, under the tree, in their seventh. That memory had to be from someone else's life. Had she ever known such bliss?

Class must have been in session, for the halls were deserted. She still knew her way around this place: every trick step, every secret-passage, all of her and James's favorite hiding places for when they just wanted to be alone… And each one was a stab to her heart. She paused by an alcove, covered by a tapestry. It seemed so long ago that she and James had skipped Charms and sat there, wrapped around each other… that James had whispered three very particular words in her ear… and she had said them right back… and everything had felt so right…

The portraits watched her in silent curiosity as she continued down the hall. She reached the gargoyle on the second floor and repeated the password from Dumbledore's letter:

…_P.S. If you ever need me, you know where to find me. And remember—I enjoy Toffee Éclairs. _

The gargoyle moved aside. Lily took a step forward and knocked on the door timidly.

"Enter," said Dumbledore's voice. He sounded tired, but patient. Always patient.

Lily turned the door and went into the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, and stood up abruptly when he saw her.

"Lily," he said in some surprise. "Is everything alright?"

She smiled faintly. "Well, I wouldn't say _everything_…"

Dumbledore nodded knowingly. "Of course not."

"But I am doing better," she added, taking a seat across the desk from him.

He sat back down. "I'm glad to hear it."

"I feel better, because I have a purpose," Lily explained. She had rehearsed this conversation prior to the meeting. The key was to not rush it. The stage had to be properly set before she told him what her plan was.

"That's a wise thing to have," Dumbledore said approvingly. "What is your purpose?"

"I don't want James and Harry to have died in vain," she said quietly.

Dumbledore's ancient face darkened. He sighed heavily and removed his spectacles. Lily continued before he could attempt to dissuade her. He seemed to have picked up on where she was going with this earlier than she had bargained for.

"I'm going to avenge their deaths. It's the only thing worth doing, and you won't be able to talk me out of it."

"I wasn't going to try to talk you out of it," he replied. "I'm not so foolish."

Lily returned his smile and shifted in her seat.

"You want to kill Voldemort," Dumbledore said casually.

She nodded eagerly, though the words sounded strange. She had never _wanted_ to kill anyone…

"And you know it won't be easy…" he continued.

"Of course I know that," she said. "I never thought it'd be easy…"

"But I'm sure you don't understand just how difficult this will be."

"I'm prepared to risk my life… I _want_ to risk my life…" she admitted.

"It will take more than your Gryffindor courage," Dumbledore said. "Killing Voldemort isn't as straightforward as killing anyone else…"

Lily frowned. "I know it will be hard for me to track him down, and then I'll probably have to duel him, but—"

"That's the least of your worries, for the time being," he interjected. "As of now, even if you were able to point your wand and Voldemort's head and say 'Avada Kedavra,' it wouldn't kill him. Not really."

Lily could no longer follow. "But—"

"He's not a mortal man," Dumbledore said. "Are you familiar with Horcruxes? A particularly nasty form of dark magic…"

"Yes, I know about them," she said dismissively. She was sure he was trying to talk her out of it, but nothing would discourage her now. She was committed. "So, I'll find the Horcrux first and I'll destroy it, then I'll kill him."

Dumbledore shook his head despairingly. "I wish it was that easy…"

"What do you mean?" Lily said in alarm. "I'll be able to do it, I know I will…"

"But you see, here's the problem—Voldemort doesn't have just one Horcrux."

Lily's head was still spinning. This was too much information to take in… and none of it made any sense. Dumbledore promised he would explain in due time. For now, all she knew was that there were at least three Horcruxes binding Voldemort to life. In order for him to die, those fragments of his soul had to be destroyed.

She had severely underestimated how difficult this was going to be. But she didn't allow herself to think the word 'impossible.' Not even once… She would prevail. Good was supposed to prevail, after all. It just might take a little longer than it should.

Lily reviewed the information she had just been bombarded with: Three or more Horcruxes. One was a locket that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. Another, Dumbledore supposed to be a cup that was Helga Hufflepuff's. The third was likely a ring that belonged to Voldemort's grandfather. Any others were unknown, though Dumbledore claimed to have some good leads. And he was positive that there were more than three, but he wouldn't explain why, or how he knew what three of them were. "_Not tonight,"_ he told her. Lily had been surprised to see the colors of sunset painting the sky out the window.

Lastly, the location of all the Horcruxes (along with the identity of any additional ones) was anyone's guess. Lily refused to be realistic or rational. That could only lead to despair and hopelessness. She said to herself, over and over, in efforts to raise her own morale: _How hard could it be? _

"I'm more than willing to help you along the way, Lily," Dumbledore said. "I'll do whatever I can. That includes preparing you as much as possible. For the next couple of weeks, I'd like you to stay here at Hogwarts, so I can properly explain."

Lily agreed and thanked him. She stood up to leave after he told her where in the castle she'd be staying.

"Oh, and Lily," he added. "If anyone can do this, it's you."

Her face warmed under his piercing gaze. "Thank you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he said amiably. "Oh—one more thing."

Lily giggled and turned again, her hand on the doorknob. Dumbledore's face was far more serious than she'd expected it to be.

"Stop by the Potion Master's office," he said meaningfully. "There's someone there who'd be happy to see you."

Lily didn't know what to expect as she knocked at the Potion Master's office door. It couldn't be Slughorn—he was no longer teaching at Hogwarts… But then who could it be? The door opened slowly. It took Lily only a moment to recognize the young man standing across from her. The hooked nose, the thick dark hair, the sharp black eyes… In his face, she saw that he recognized her as well.

Severus Snape.

They stared at each other, speechless and frozen. Lily hadn't seen him since their seventh year at Hogwarts. It didn't take long for the memories to begin rushing back to her again. This time, though (unlike earlier when she had wandered the corridors of the school), the flashbacks didn't seem like ghosts from someone else's life. They were no longer detached from the emotions, as if the presence of her once best friend anchored her to her own life.

And this time, the memories hit Lily with a crippling blow. She burst into tears.

She babbled nonsensically, trying to explain herself. Severus still hadn't moved, and looked rather frightened, understandably. Then he stepped forward, seeming conflicted, and Lily sobbed into his shoulder with no restraint. His hands timidly touched her back and he patted her awkwardly. She quieted for a moment, and moved away from him, struggling to compose herself. She had to explain what happened to her, and why she was here, like a normal, competent person… one who didn't fall apart at the sight of a familiar face.

Severus kept adjusting his facial expression uncomfortably, as if he couldn't decide which emotion was best to convey.

"Lily," he said quietly, squeezing her arm. He settled on a devastated, sympathetic look.

That was all it took. All her resolve melted away and she was sobbing into his robes again; sobbing like she hadn't in weeks.

"Lily," Severus pleaded, massaging her shoulders. "I'm sorry… so sorry… please. Shh. Don't cry. I'm sorry, Lily…"

Lily breathed deep, shaky breaths, trying to calm herself. She was sure she had finally overcome this particularly nasty stage. Guess not. Severus led her down the hall a short ways and up out of the dungeons. Lily was having mild difficulty walking, and Severus all but carried her to the spare room she would be staying in.

"Shh," he murmured. "It's okay."

Lily nodded and curled up on the bed, her tears now soaking into the fresh, cold pillow. Severus stood just inside the door, watching her with great concern.

"Well, if you're alright, I'm—" he began.

"Don't go," Lily whimpered.

Severus hesitated only a moment before he went to sit on the edge of the bed. He paused again, before he began to rub her arm again, maintaining a steady rhythm.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he said again. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head and smiled faintly.

"No, no," he insisted. "I _really_ am. So sorry…"

Lily drifted into the welcome oblivion of sleep after some time, the tears still wet on her face, to the sound of Severus's incessant apologies.

* * *

><p>Severus Snape had never been so disgusted with himself. Actually, he had never been a fan, but this was an all-time low. Here was this girl, this beautiful young woman, whose life he had personally, albeit unintentionally, ruined. And she had no idea—no clue that the person who now comforted her was the one who'd as good as killed her husband and young son.<p>

If that wasn't bad enough, Severus couldn't help but note how beautiful Lily was as she slept. True, her face was blotchy, her eyes red, her nose running a bit, and her eyelashes heavy with tears… but this was Lily. How could she not look—

Severus stopped and chastised himself harshly: _You are a terrible person. You are going to hell. If there isn't a hell, one will be made especially for you._

"I'm sorry," he whispered again.

He brushed a finger across Lily's glistening cheek. Her eyelids fluttered, but she was clearly sound asleep. Severus crouched down on the floor beside the bed, holding her limp hand. Their faces were inches apart.

"I'm sorry," he began carefully, "for calling you a Mudblood."

Lily didn't react. Emboldened, he tried again.

"I'm sorry for… what I did," he said, chickening out at the last second. But he forced himself to follow through. He had to say this. It might relieve some of the guilt he was drowning in. He leaned over, so her hair was tickling his face, and hovered just above her ear. He inhaled deeply.

"It's my fault," he whispered. "It's my fault that James and your son are dead. And I am so sorry… but I didn't know that the prophecy—no. No excuses. What I've done is inexcusable. I'm so incredibly sorry, Lily. You know I would never do anything purposefully to hurt you, because I—"

Severus cut himself off. There were only so many things he was willing to confess to Lily's unconscious form. He sighed and stood up, tucking the blankets around her, before shutting off the light and leaving the room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey, thanks for reading/suscribing/reviewing my story so far! And please continue to do so :)** **This will include a couple different POVs, especially Snape's and Sirius's in the future, although the next chappie is Dumbledore's. (P.S.: I've got one question concerning this, so here's the answer: Lily doesn't know that Snape told Voldemort the prophecy... not until chapter 10 anyway :P So therefore, he's not on her hit-list.) -Jenni**


	4. The Deathly Hallows

"You must be happy."

Severus glanced up at Dumbledore's bitter words.

"Sorry?" he said, his face blank.

"Everything worked out for you, I daresay," Dumbledore said evenly.

"What—? No!" Severus argued. "You think I wanted this—Lily so unhappy?"

"I can't be sure what you want," Dumbledore replied. "I don't know you so well, yet."

Severus glowered at him, but didn't respond. Dumbledore took the opportunity to continue. He was determined to make Severus suffer a little. Merlin knows it would do him some good…

"Now you can have Lily all to yourself, and—"

"Don't," Severus hissed, his eyes narrowing to slits. "Don't ever say that again."

"The thought has surely crossed your mind," Dumbledore said casually.

"What kind of person do you think I am?" Severus demanded, color rising in his face.

"As I've said, I don't know you so well. But you don't deny it… you have been thinking it."

Severus lowered his eyes. His glaring features softened.

"But you feel guilty for thinking in that way," Dumbledore observed. "You're convinced you're a terrible person. But, Severus—"

His eyes flashed and his face hardened again. "Don't analyze me. You don't know what I'm thinking."

"Ah, but I do…"

Severus didn't seem to doubt this, as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. If only he knew how easy he was to read… but at the same time, he was one of the best Occlumens Dumbledore had ever seen. If he wanted to, he could keep anyone out, even Voldemort, whose Legilimency was not something to make light of.

"Lily is a remarkable woman," Dumbledore said conversationally.

"Yes, I'm aware," Severus said, a trace of amusement in his eyes and voice.

"She wants to avenge their deaths," Dumbledore explained.

Severus blinked in clear surprise. "You mean, she wants to kill…" he trailed off.

"Voldemort, yes," Dumbledore supplied, nodding.

Severus groaned and dropped his face into his hands. "Can't you talk her out of it?"

"I will do no such thing!" he said indignantly. "And you won't try to dissuade her, either."

"What, you're forbidding me from it?" Severus cocked an eyebrow in a nonverbal challenge.

"Yes," Dumbledore said seriously, accepting the challenge. "Yes, I am."

The icy blue eyes met the hard black ones, and the two men were opposites in so many ways… Old and young… white hair, black hair… wise and naïve… Dumbledore smiled to himself. He knew Severus wasn't naïve, not in most ways, but somehow he couldn't understand the one woman he claimed to love.

"She can't possibly believe she can kill the Dark Lord," Severus said slowly.

Dumbledore let his silence suffice as an answer.

"She'll get killed!"

"I think she welcomes the possibility."

"You can't allow her to go on this suicide mission!" Severus protested.

"There's no stopping her," Dumbledore said quietly.

Severus stared at him, and after a time swallowed audibly and looked down. "If she dies, it will also be my fault."

"That's a bit narcissistic," Dumbledore mused. "Of course, you can trace anything back to yourself if you're creative enough."

"But this is clearly my fault," Severus insisted. "If I hadn't—"

"Yes, yes, if you hadn't relayed the prophecy to Voldemort none of this would have happened. There's no way around that."

Severus looked slightly nauseous. "But I didn't know—"

Dumbledore cut him off once again; "Why is it that we love to blame ourselves, but as soon as it's someone else pointing fingers we get defensive?"

Severus offered no answer to the rhetorical question, and was stubbornly avoiding Dumbledore's gaze.

"You know what you have to do," he said briskly.

Severus looked up, bewildered. "What?"

"There's only one clear option for you at this point."

"And what would that be?" Severus said impatiently.

"Help her," said Dumbledore simply.

Severus stared, his mouth slightly open. "You mean… help her… kill the Dark Lord?"

"Precisely. That's all, Severus. Have a nice night." Dumbledore ushered him out of the office before he could protest. _Let him sleep on it_, Dumbledore thought. _He knows the right thing to do. He still has a conscience, somewhere beneath all his defenses…_

Lily's determination had rejuvenated Dumbledore's own interest in Horcruxes. He reviewed his collection of memories, all providing insight into the mystery. The most important one was unfortunately incomplete, but he was confident Lily would be able to retrieve the true memory. Regardless, he had enough information to make a move. Early on a Saturday morning, he left the school for a place he had seen only in the memory of another.

The house was old, dilapidated—it was obvious no one had set foot in it for a very long time. The grass surrounding it was dry and dead and crunched under his shoes. The glass in the windows was shattered and scattered around the yard. The front door hung on its hinges at an odd angle. A withered snakeskin was nailed to the splintered wood of the door.

Dumbledore entered the house cautiously, his wand raised. "Hemenum Revelio," he murmured. No one was there, except for him. And a Horcrux. There was a Horcrux here, he could sense it… There had to be… and he knew which one it was; the ring. Marvolo Gaunt's ring.

It was here. Somewhere. Dumbledore concentrated; magic always left traces… especially dark magic. But this house had known plenty of sorcery, and witnessed its fair share of the dark arts as well.

Despite the many lingering paths of spells and curses, Dumbledore could detect something especially sinister beneath his feet, under the floorboards. Instantly, he blasted the floor away. Once the dust cleared, he peered down into the gaping hole.

And there it was.

An ancient ring; ornate and elegant; showing no signs of its age. The dim light shone off the smooth stone, bearing an eerily familiar symbol. Dumbledore's suspicions about the ring's true origins were confirmed. He knelt to the floor and reached for the ring. It was unnaturally, unsettlingly cold. He had no doubt this was a Horcrux, although he had never come in contact with one before. In all modesty, his instincts tended to be fairly accurate.

Carefully tucking the ring into the pocket of his robes, he left the long-abandoned Gaunt house and returned to Hogwarts. Safely back in his office, he took out the ring and laid it on the desk. It seemed to quiver slightly whenever he passed his wand near it, as if it feared for its life… definitely a Horcrux. A fragment of Voldemort's soul was inside it, and apparently aware of Dumbledore's intent.

But now there was a new set of problems cropping up—how exactly does one destroy a Horcrux? Unfortunately, no one had written a handbook on the subject… _Horcrux Destruction in Three Easy Steps!_ That would have been helpful.

It would require extremely powerful magic. That was a safe assumption to make. As he thought, Dumbledore studied the ring, and the symbol upon it in particular. The sign of the Deathly Hallows… It brought back the slightest twinge of nostalgia… and memories best kept forgotten. Then it suddenly brought a heart-stopping realization: All three of the Deathly Hallows were in his office… in his possession.

Dumbledore rummaged through his desk drawer until he found the Invisibility Cloak, borrowed from James Potter. He clutched his wand, the fabled Elder Wand. And lastly, the Resurrection stone. The one that had most captivated him, and the one that had evaded him the longest.

Now he had all three, and it was positively overwhelming. He was consumed with the desire to unite them, for the first time in history. Albus Dumbledore; Master of Death… an adolescent dream turned obsession; the sort that blinded him from the manipulating nature of a friend…

Still, Dumbledore resisted the temptation. The Cloak was draped over his shoulders, the wand in his hand, but he hadn't yet slipped the ring over his finger. He stood there, deliberating, trying to talk himself out of it. But he knew he was weak… he would give in.

With trembling hands, Dumbledore lined up his finger with the ring and tried to savor the moment. A sudden sound made him jump and the ring fell to the floor. He whipped off the cloak and sank back into his chair. It was only a knock at his door.

"Come in," he called shakily.

The door opened. "What happened to 'Enter'? Too formal?" Lily said lightly, a valiant attempt at humor. She used to be so witty… she could make anyone laugh…

Dumbledore struggled to relax, and to return her smile.

She noticed. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," he said dismissively. "Can I help you?"

Lily gave him an odd look. "It's time for our lesson. You know, memories in the Pensieve, and Horcruxes and the like…"

"Oh right," Dumbledore said hurriedly. "Well, I've got a surprise for you." He bent to pick up the ring from the floor, and set it on the desk between them.

She gasped. "Is that the ring? The first Horcrux? We've already found a Horcrux?"

She picked up the ring, and her broad smile faltered. She quickly set it back down, clearly unnerved by its icy temperature and faint pulse that Dumbledore was sure he wasn't only imagining.

"So, what's next?" she asked urgently. "How do we destroy it?"

"I don't know," Dumbledore admitted.

Her face fell. The office was quiet, save for the sound of Fawkes ruffling his feathers.

"I have a job for you, Lily," he said suddenly. "An easy one. But 'easy' is an extremely relative term…"

Lily smiled and nodded for him to continue.

"You need to help me get a memory," Dumbledore said.

Her eyes widened. "Oh. From who?"

"Horace Slughorn," he said heavily.

"Slughorn?" she repeated incredulously.

"I'm sure he'll give it to you, just ask for the memory. If you slip in the mention of Horcruxes, he'll know what you're talking about."

Lily nodded unsurely.

"Once we have that memory, I think you'll be ready to begin the hunt."

She gaped at him. "I'm not ready!"

"You'll be as ready as you possibly can be," he said. His eyes flickered down to the ring on the table. "I'll look for ways to destroy Horcruxes, but I… I want you to keep this with you."

Dumbledore placed the ring in Lily's reluctant hand. She grimaced and put it back on the table.

"You can keep it," she said.

He chuckled. "No, no, I insist." _Besides, I don't trust myself with that thing…_

Lily sighed and placed the ring in her pocket.

"I advise you not wear it until it's been killed, but keep it on you," he instructed. "And one more thing…"

Dumbledore shook out the Invisibility Cloak and handed it across the table to Lily. The second Hallow he would deny himself… Lily's eyes were watering as she stroked the shimmering fabric of the Cloak.

"Thank you," she squeaked, a tear leaking from the corner of her eye. She wiped it away, and stood up. "Goodnight."

Dumbledore smiled warmly and wished her a goodnight in return. She left the office, taking two thirds of the Deathly Hallows with her. But that was how it should be: Dumbledore didn't trust himself with anything more than the Elder Wand. And he claimed he kept that only to protect others from its power. But if that was really his only intent, he would've destroyed it long ago, when it first befell him.

No, he couldn't fall prey to delusions of self-righteousness. He kept it for himself because he wanted it—he wanted the power. Whenever he considered destroying it, he couldn't bring himself to. It was a Hallow—a piece of Wizarding lore. And it was his wand. He was accustomed to it; to being… undefeatable.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading! Please leave your thoughts. I'll be pretty quick with the updates for a while because I have 11 chapters written, but I'll try to space it out a bit to give myself time to write further. -Jenni**


	5. The Dark Mark

As she knocked on the door, Lily made up her mind that she wasn't going to stall or go about things indirectly—she was going to get this memory from Slughorn in as little time as was necessary, then leave. It was the only thing left to do before she could start the Horcrux hunt.

Slughorn was, of course, surprised to see her: "Lily? What's wrong?"

She paused—did she look upset, or was he only assuming there had to be a good reason for her to show up at his house? The second option was likely enough, she decided.

"Just the usual," she answered, and his expression darkened. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Slughorn stepped aside, allowing her to enter. Lily moved through the living room slowly, and was drawn to something familiar. She crouched down beside the coffee table. Upon it, there was a glass bowl full of water. A small fish with shimmering scales suspended itself in the center of the bowl, treading the water slowly with its delicate fins.

Lily smiled and touched the glass gently with the tips of her fingers.

"I named him Francis," Slughorn said softly from behind her. "A remarkable work of magic, he is."

She nodded and stood up, tearing her gaze away from the fish. "I have to ask you about something."

"Care for some tea?" he said, as if he hadn't heard her. But his smile was too tightly stretched across his face.

"No, thank you," she replied. "I need you to help me—"

"I have coffee, too. Or hot cocoa," he continued. "Butterbeer, if you like…"

He escaped the living room into the kitchen. Lily followed—did he know what she was going to ask about? Was that why he was so nervous? What was this memory, anyway?

"Professor… Professor!" she said, causing him to stop.

"I'm not your teacher anymore, Lily, you can call me Horace," he said after a brief hesitation.

"Alright, Horace," Lily sighed. "I need your help."

Slughorn remained quiet, but was fidgeting ever so slightly. She continued.

"I need to get a memory from you."

His surprise was obviously feigned. "A memory?" he repeated, smiling much too widely for it to be natural. "What memory? Did Dumbledore put you up to this?"

The last sentence came out sounding more like an accusation than a cheerful inquisition.

"Yes," Lily admitted, her tone and stance suggesting a challenge. "Yes, he did."

They stared at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment. Slughorn suddenly coughed, and averted his eyes.

"I can't help you, Lily."

"But, Horace—"

"I can't help you," he said again, louder.

"You have to," Lily pleaded. "I don't know what the memory is, but Dumbledore says—"

"You don't know what the memory is?" Slughorn cut her off, his eyes wide. "You don't know what I did?"

"No," she said, beginning to wonder in earnest why he was so protective of this memory. "But it can't be that bad."

"It is," he insisted. "If you knew, you would blame everything on me—"

"That's ridiculous," Lily scoffed. "Besides, if you'll give me the memory than I'll be able to kill Voldemort."

His jaw literally dropped. "Wait—you can't— but—it's not— no!" he sputtered. "You can't kill You-Know-Who, with or without the memory!"

"But it's worth a shot."

Slughorn shook his head adamantly. "You don't understand, Lily."

"I know he has Horcruxes," she said. "I know it's going to be difficult."

He was still moving his head back and forth stubbornly. "That's a severe understatement."

"I know," she said dismissively. "But I still need the memory."

Lily could tell Slughorn was giving in by the sound of his sigh, and the way his face fell. "Fine," he said, extracting his wand from his pocket. He touched the tip of it to his temple and a long, silvery strand came from his skin, twisted around the wand. Lily eagerly captured it in a vial and capped it. The memory floated inside the glass, too tangible to be a vapor, too fluid to be a solid, yet too opaque to be a liquid.

"Thank you," she said in some relief, slipping the vial into her pocket. "Goodnight."

Lily made for the door, but Slughorn stopped her. "Just remember… I didn't know."

She nodded at his vague words that only piqued her curiosity about what the memory contained. Absently assuring him that she didn't blame him, she left the house and Disapparated just beyond the door frame.

Lily rose out of the Pensieve and the headmaster's office rematerialized around her. She looked anxiously to Dumbledore, who had a grave expression on his face.

"Six Horcruxes," he said. "Voldemort has six Horcruxes."

The office was in silence. The portraits of previous headmasters were too quiet for their feigned sleep to be believable. Fawkes was perfectly, unnaturally still on his perch.

"Marvolo Gaunt's ring," Lily said, her voice ringing strangely in the room. Her hand found the cold surface of the ring in her pocket.

Dumbledore seemed to catch on, and added to her inventory: "Helga Hufflepuff's cup."

"And Salazar Slytherin's locket," she finished. "Any other ideas?"

"Perhaps something belonging to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. And one more… something significant to Voldemort, I'm sure. A trophy of some sort… a memento."

Lily nodded, the wheels in her mind turning. "Something of Gryffindor's…" she mused. Her eyes found the magnificent sword, encased on the wall behind the desk.

"No, the sword isn't a Horcrux." Dumbledore smiled patiently.

"Of course not," she said quickly, warmth coming to her cheeks. What was she thinking? One of Voldemort's Horcruxes wouldn't just be hanging up above the headmaster's desk at Hogwarts! That only reminded her that she had no idea where the Horcruxes would be. They could be anywhere in the world… For the first time, Lily realized the true magnitude of what she was trying to do. Some sort of high-stakes scavenger hunt.

"I'm sorry I can't help you any more right now," Dumbledore said.

"No, no, you've done enough," she assured him. "I feel ready."

It wasn't really a lie. She did feel ready. She had been ready emotionally to kill Voldemort since the night he killed her family. But in actuality, she was not prepared in the least for her mission. She didn't want to admit this to Dumbledore, but of course he knew. Maybe he knew she was only going to be wandering around Great Britain for however long, and figured that at least she'd be safe. And she would think she was doing something to help. To avenge James's and Harry's deaths.

Lily felt a sudden surge of resentment toward Dumbledore for things she only suspected he was thinking. That was when she knew if she didn't do something soon, she would lose it.

"I'll start the hunt tomorrow," Lily announced.

People always said "when there's a will, there's a way." Lily found this difficult to believe. She wanted so badly to find and destroy these Horcruxes and then kill Voldemort, but that was, by all accounts, impossible.

Her bags were packed—or one bag, rather, with an impressive undetectable extension charm—but she had no idea where to begin. So she stalled for a few days, hiding out in her room, pretending that she was sick, or still in the process of packing. For some reason, it really irked her that no one called her out on this. Everyone went along with her whims so patiently, like she was mentally unstable and they were her doctors.

Finally, Lily admitted to herself that waiting wasn't going to solve anything, so she decided to leave before she lost her nerve. She grabbed her bag early in the morning and was ready to make a run for it. But when she turned the corner just outside her room, she ran directly into Severus.

"Oh, there you are, Lily," he stammered, awkwardly fiddling with the sleeves of his robes. "I was just looking for you."

She sighed; her resolve was melting… all she wanted now was to stay here at Hogwarts where it was safe and comfortable. "Well, you found me."

Severus nodded, and looked around as if hoping someone would come to his assistance. "You're up early," he said after a time.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Yes… I was just leaving."

"For the Horcrux Hunt?"

She choked on the farewell she was about to give him, and ended up making an odd coughing noise. "How do you know about that?" she asked in a low voice, even though there was no one there to hear her.

"Dumbledore told me," he answered quickly. "It looks like I came just in time."

She scowled. "If you're going to try and talk me out of it, then—"

Severus cut her off; "No, no, not at all. I'm coming with you."

At first, Lily was completely in shock at the prospect of Severus joining her on the Hunt. Then she became comfortable with the idea—it would be nice to have company and some help, besides. Now, she had come full circle and was wishing she was alone.

It wasn't anything to do with Severus. He was helpful and patient and everything Lily could expect him to be under the circumstances. And the circumstances were trying, to say the least. It had only taken a few days for Lily to realize just how very clueless she was. They'd been wandering aimlessly for nearly two weeks, setting up camp in one location for a day and then moving on the next. Through it all, Severus made no comment. He didn't complain that Lily obviously had no idea what she was doing. He didn't abandon her.

The whole situation was quite embarrassing for Lily, and there was no end in sight. It seemed that Voldemort himself would sooner destroy his own Horcruxes than would Lily make any progress.

"Where to next?" Severus asked one particular morning, like he always did. There was absolutely nothing mocking in his tone of voice—he was completely sincere. And this, as almost everything did nowadays, really annoyed her.

"I don't know," she snapped, rolling over in her sleeping bag. She spent more and more time each day just lying there, uneager to do anything. Where did all her energy go?

"Well," Severus said, just as patient as ever, "let's consult the map."

He pulled out a worn map of Great Britain. There were already little red X's all over the area nearest to Hogwarts. So many places they'd gone to and none of them any good.

"I believe it's your turn," he said.

Lily groaned quietly, and stretched a hand behind her until she felt the map. She blindly picked a spot on the paper. "There. Let's go there."

She reburied her face into the blankets for a moment, until she heard a faint chuckle from Severus. She sat up and glared at him. He recoiled a little, the smile disappearing from his face.

"What's so funny?" she hissed.

"Nothing, you just pointed to the middle of the English Channel. I mean, I've no objection to it, but I don't think our tent will hold up, unless you've got a boat in there…" Severus gestured to her small bag in which they kept everything—their clothes, tent, food… everything they had brought with them.

There was no smile on his earnest face, but Lily was vaguely aware that he was joking. It seemed like the strangest thing in the world. When was the last time she had joked around with someone? Had she laughed since James and Harry had died? She couldn't remember. She hoped she hadn't.

"Why don't you pick a place? You never do," Lily suggested.

Severus frowned and looked down at the map. "I wouldn't know where to go."

"Neither do I," she mumbled, hugging a pillow to her chest.

He bit his lip, and began to trace lines between the red X's on the map, as if he was trying to find a pattern. "It's not my Hunt, anyway," he muttered, risking a glance at her.

Lily bristled. "I thought you wanted to come with."

"No, I did… I mean, I do, but—"

"No one's making you stay. You're free to go," she huffed, and then sat back stubbornly, waiting for him to make the smallest move that might suggest he was going to take her up on the offer.

He stared back at her for an uncomfortable length of time. "I'm still here, Lily."

She made no response, and carefully avoided his eyes. Eventually, Severus sighed and turned back to the map. "Let's see… How about… here?"

His finger was on a spot not too far from where they currently were. Lily shrugged indifferently.

"Is that a yes?" he pressed, his voice betraying the tiniest hint of impatience. For some reason, Lily considered it a victory. He could only put up with her for so long, like everyone else. She didn't know why she was so determined to be like this, but it was easier than the alternative.

Severus exhaled heavily again. "You have to work with me, Lily. I want to help you, but—"

"Fine, then," she interrupted. "Let's go. Why not?"

He blinked and paused, as if waiting for her to cool off, but it was his only reaction. None of this decreased Lily's irritation. Severus seemed about to respond when he suddenly clutched his left forearm with his other hand. His eyes were wide, his face white, his mouth frozen open. It all added up to an expression of unmistakable terror. A moment was all Lily needed to form a good guess as to what was happening.

"Severus…" she began, reaching out toward him.

He jerked away, maintaining a death-grip on his own arm.

"Lily, I—" he tried, but his voice was too constricted to continue. Besides, there was clearly no explanation. Lily moved across the small tent and took his wrist. He didn't fight it. Slowly, she loosened his fingers while he looked on helplessly. Then she rolled up the sleeve and the mark was revealed almost immediately. It was exactly what she'd expected to find, but shocking all the same.

It was the hideous skull and snake, chillingly familiar, tattooed into his pale skin. But the Mark was a smoldering black color, like embers. When she'd been rolling up his sleeve, her fingers had brushed against it, and she'd felt how hot it was. The Dark Mark was burning, right inside his arm.

"Lily, I'm—I'm—"

"I know," she said briskly. "You're a Death Eater."

Severus winced. "Was," he added in a voice nearing a whisper. "Was a Death Eater."

"Doesn't make much difference, though, does it?" she challenged.

He didn't answer, but stared at the Mark on his arm. There was something in his face that she couldn't quite read… then it hit her.

"You want to go!" she accused, springing to her feet. "You want to go back to your old Death Eater friends!"

The notion obviously shocked him. "No!" he managed to say after a couple moments of incoherent sputtering. "I don't want to go, but… I have to."

This only stopped Lily up for a second, before she fired back. "Why? You're afraid for your life? You have to keep crawling back to them to save your skin? You're a coward."

Something she said seemed to resonate with him. He also jumped to his feet, and looked equally angry; his fist clenched at his side, his eyes narrowed.

"If you'd give me a chance to explain, I think you'll take back what you just said." His words were calm, reasonable ones, but the snarl on his face was all that registered with Lily and she fed off his anger.

"What do you need to explain?" she cried. "You're a Death Eater! That's why you were so eager to come with me, isn't it? So you could make sure I'd never get anywhere!"

"I'm not a Death Eater!" he shouted back. "I'm a spy!"

His words hung in the air between them, and Lily was completely caught off guard by them. Her hesitation provided him with the chance to continue.

"I was a Death Eater, but now I'm a double agent—ask Dumbledore, it was his idea. So that means whenever the Dark Mark burns I have to go, so the Dark Lord will still trust me. Does that make sense to you? Will you stop accusing me now?"

Lily was too confused for what he was saying to fully sink in. All she knew was what she had to say. She offered her best apologetic smile.

"Sev, I'm so—"

"Save your breath," he said, cutting her off. He Disapparated, leaving Lily feeling like she had been slapped across the face.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: See what Sev did there? :) Please leave a review, I love 'em! Next chapter will be Snape's POV - the plot will thicken, more characters will come into play, and... well, if I told you it'd ruin it ;) -Jenni**


	6. Malfoy Manor

Severus didn't know how much longer he could deal with this: the risk, and constant danger; the anxiety. At times, he was convinced Voldemort knew the truth. It seemed impossible to mislead him for this long. Surely, Voldemort was just playing along, biding his time, until he decided to kill Severus, the traitor. Every moment Severus spent in the company of Voldemort could very well be his last. It was not a particularly enjoyable experience.

And now he was exposing himself to that again. He lengthened his strides as he approached Malfoy Manor. There was no one outside besides him—and several peacocks. These weren't ordinary peacocks. They were a strange albino variety… their beady red eyes followed him, though the rest of their bodies remained unnaturally still. Severus quickened his pace to a jog the rest of the way to the mansion. The giant doors parted before him and he slowed again, entering cautiously.

The doors closed behind him, and the sound echoed in the large entrance hall. Severus strained his ears, until he was sure he heard voices coming from down the hall. They couldn't all be here already… Lily couldn't have held him up _that_ long… Severus hurried in the direction of the voices, hoping the strange acoustics of Malfoy Manor weren't deceiving him. Fortunately, he soon came upon the meeting room.

There was a long, narrow table in the center of the room, surrounded on both sides by sober-faced, dark-clothed Death Eaters. They glanced to him, their reactions ranging from surprise to relief to disapproval. At the head of the table stood Voldemort himself. His presence gave the impression that the room lacked oxygen. It didn't help that Voldemort's dark eyes—which glowed slightly crimson in the light—were boring into Severus's.

It was all instinct now. Severus focused his gaze just above Voldemort's eyes, and kept his mind as blank as possible. It seemed, at times, that that was all he could do. Put up his weak defenses and hope for the best.

"Thanks for joining us," Voldemort said, his cruel smile affecting the sound of his words.

"I apologize, my Lord," Severus said, bowing his head slightly. "Dumbledore kept me—"

"Hmph!"

Everyone turned toward the indignant sound, which, unsurprisingly, had been issued from Bellatrix Lestrange. Her arms were folded across her chest and she positively radiated self-assured superiority.

Voldemort gave a rough approximation of a patient smile to his favorite little Bella.

"Bellatrix," he said in a pleasant tone, "you know that Snape has to keep Dumbledore's trust…" He turned away from the scowling Death Eater and back to Severus. "You _have_ kept his trust, haven't you?"

"Oh, yes," Severus answered coolly. "He trusts me more than ever."

Voldemort clasped his hands together like a gleeful madman. Which, Severus supposed, was precisely what he was oftentimes.

"Perfect," Voldemort said in a low voice, nearing a purr, or, more accurately, a serpentine hiss. "You have served us well."

Severus made the mistake of meeting Voldemort's eyes for a split second. He realized why Voldemort was such a talented Legilmens. It wasn't his magical ability, though that certainly helped, it was the hypnotizing quality of his eyes. It was very difficult to look away, no matter how frightening they were. Finally, Voldemort turned away. Severus took a seat, next to Lucius Malfoy, and across from Bellatrix who had always been rather conspicuous about her distastes. Today was no different—she glared at Severus with a burning intensity. He only smiled warmly back at her every time they met eyes, quite enjoying the little game.

Voldemort, pacing back and forth at the head of the table, addressed the large group.

"As I was saying earlier, I have successfully killed the Potter boy."

Severus tensed as dozens of eyes fell upon him.

"And thank you, Severus," Voldemort continued, "for telling me of the prophecy."

He cleared his throat. "Of course. It is my greatest honor."

"As it should be," Voldemort said approvingly. "For now… I am invincible."

A hush fell over the room. Not that it hadn't been quiet before, but now no one breathed, or tapped their wands against their legs, or shifted in their seats. Everyone seemed somewhat unsettled by the announcement. Except for Bellatrix, of course. She appeared ready to jump for joy. _What a strange sight that would be_, Severus thought in amusement while he appraised the dark, deathly serious woman across from him.

"And that means that we are invincible. The hard times are over. The enemies are defeated. The Order of the Phoenix is all but destroyed. They have no rallying point now that their false-savior, the boy, is dead. No hope. No chance."

Severus felt as if a weight had been dropped on his shoulders, crushing him to the ground. Of course there was no chance… he had always known that. Then why was it so depressing to hear it out loud? Severus caught himself—his thoughts were drifting into dangerous territory. He redirected them. He was a loyal Death Eater… not a double-agent who was on a Horcrux Hunt with the ultimate goal of killing Voldemort.

Suddenly, he realized that Voldemort was looking at him. He quickly sealed off his mind—it felt somewhat like putting his head under water, or plugging his ears. That was how he knew it was working. With renewed confidence, he waited for Voldemort to address him. Severus found he knew what Voldemort was going to say a second before he did—like the tables had been turned. Like Severus was the Legilmens.

"I left the Mudblood for you, Severus," Voldemort said. "The girl. She is very lucky to be alive… Make good use of her."

"Thank you, my Lord," Severus replied, neither his voice nor his facial expression betraying any emotion, although he was boiling inside. These were the times when he almost enjoyed himself—when he was completely in control. It was empowering; an adrenaline rush like no other. He met eyes with Voldemort, and he could feel his mind being penetrated. But Voldemort would only see what Severus wanted him to see. And that meant a whole host of fake memories and thoughts that Severus kept at the ready; little snippets of Severus being a good little Death Eater.

Apparently satisfied, Voldemort left Severus's brain alone to discuss other matters.

"Lucius, Narcissa," he said suddenly.

They both jumped visibly. Narcissa in particular was even paler than usual—her blue eyes were round.

"Yes, my Lord?" Lucius said quietly. Severus, being so close to him, could hear how uneven his breath was.

"It's the first time we've all gathered here in quite some time, isn't it?" Voldemort continued.

"Uh, yes, I believe so," Lucius said unsurely, as if it was a trick question.

"I'm sure it's been over a year…"

Lucius nodded slowly. Narcissa was perfectly motionless, resembling a porcelain doll more than ever.

Voldemort sighed in clear frustration. "Your son. I haven't yet seen him."

"He's sleeping," Narcissa squeaked. Severus saw Lucius touch her leg under the table in an obvious effort to get her to shut up. She obliged.

"We'll take you to him," Lucius said, standing up. Everyone else cautiously followed suit, and Voldemort went eagerly to Lucius's side.

"Come along, everyone. A new pureblood is invaluable in this day and age."

As the Death Eaters began parading down the halls, Bellatrix yanked her husband aside and whispered in his ear—probably something along the lines of; _we need to make a whole bunch of little pureblood babies so I can be the Dark Lord's favorite again!_

Severus couldn't help but smile to himself—it seemed exactly the kind of thing Bellatrix would say to poor Rodolphus.

After a long trek through Malfoy Manor, they came to a dark, spacious rom. There wasn't much in the room, besides a strange, antique-looking cradle. It didn't look like a comfortable place for a baby, what with its wrought-iron legs and bars.

"He's sleeping," Narciss said helplessly as they gathered around the cradle. Her plea was ignored.

There was a sleeping toddler in the cradle. He looked perfectly healthy despite the paleness of his skin. The thin hair on his head was bleach-blond; nearly white—much like the hair of an elderly man, though much shinier and silkier.

"His name is Draco," Lucius said, his eyes moving between his son and Voldemort. The latter was looking at little Draco with a disturbing hunger in his eyes. Without asking permission, Voldemort reached his thin, spidery hands toward the baby. Narcissa's small cry of protest was ignored.

Draco's eyes fluttered open at that moment, and he, understandably, began to cry—loudly. Voldemort didn't attempt to hide his distaste. In fact, he drew his wand.

"_Silencio_," he said. Tears continued to roll down Draco's blotchy cheeks, but his sobs went unheard.

Severus sighed in relief, in unison with Narcissa and Lucius. Voldemort had killed one baby recently—what would prevent him from doing it again?

Voldemort and his Death Eaters formed a line to take turns holding the sufficiently silenced Draco. Severus, thoroughly disgusted, snuck away, out of the room. He soon realized how unfamiliar he was with Malfoy Manor when he found himself quite lost in the labyrinth of corridors. He had been trying to get back to the entrance hall… maybe if he retraced his steps... was he going in circles? That portrait looked familiar…

Many wrong turns later, Severus was in a rather small room. Small for Malfoy Manor, anyway. Or maybe it was all the stuff in the room that made it feel cramped. Severus thought that if the Malfoys were to spread out everything in this particular room, dispersing it throughout the mansion, their home would feel less… depressing. Severus really wasn't interested in snooping—it was just Lucius Malfoy's possessions, anyway—but this room appeared to have been furnished exclusively by Borgin and Burke's. Every object was darker and more sinister than the one next to it. Curiosity getting the best of him, Severus began to examine the artifacts upon the desk. There were glass eyes, a creepy mask—it's eyes seemed to follow him, something that looked very much like an instrument of torture, and a very peculiar little book; leather-bound, old and dusty. It was only peculiar in that it was entirely ordinary, and therefore stuck out among the rest. Eagerly, Severus opened it. His head stopped instantly.

The book, in an elegant script, proclaimed itself to be the diary of Tom Riddle. Without thinking, Severus pocketed it and hurried out of the room.

Was he imagining it, or was the book a few vital degrees below room temperature? It had a faint pulse, too… or, perhaps, that was his own heartbeat. He increased his speed in the narrow, unfamiliar hallway and barreled around the corner—running smack into someone coming from the opposite direction.

"Severus?" said a soft, tremulous voice. It was Narcissa.

"Oh, I was just… going to the bathroom," he said unconvincingly.

Narcissa didn't seem to notice or care. "You're lost, aren't you?" she asked with a faint smile.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Good thing I ran into you."

She began leading him down the hall. "To be honest, I still get lost sometimes. I mean, this place is so big… I don't see why we have to live here—why we can't get a nice little house in the country somewhere…"

Severus had a sinking feeling in his stomach as Narcissa's voice grew more and more hysterical. He didn't know how to deal with an emotional breakdown… He sympathized with Narcissa, even liked her—she was downright pleasant compared to a certain sister of hers—but that didn't mean he wanted to comfort her. His recent experiences with Lily had taught him that women are very… fragile sometimes.

Narcissa had stopped and was leaning against the wall, still facing away from him.

"And when Draco starts walking," she continued, "he'll wander off and get lost and we'll never find him…"

She choked on the last word and buried her face in her hands. Severus timidly patted her shoulder, seeing no other option.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"Of course I'm not alright" she snapped, whirling around.

He drew back, startled. She fell back against the wall again.

"I just…" she continued, "I just can't take it anymore."

Severus gulped. "What can't you take anymore?" he prompted kindly.

"All of it!" she cried. "All of it… I can't… I can't…"

Suddenly, Narcissa's face became impassive and blank, as if sealed off. The redness of her eyes was the only clue to any emotion. Severus realized that this was how she survived.

"Sorry," she said stiffly, before leading him back to the entrance hall in silence.

Severus left Malfoy Manor the first chance he had without being suspicious. He Apparated back to the forest where he and Lily had been camping. The diary felt heavy in his pocket and he was still on an adrenaline rush from having stolen it. Of course, it was unlikely it was a Horcrux, but it had belonged to Voldemort at some point… It had to have. How many Tom Riddles were there, anyway?

The tent was still there, just where it had been. His excitement mounted as he approached it.

"Lily! Lily!" Severus called.

She ducked her head out of the tent, her wand at the ready. He grinned.

"It's me," he said, holding his arms up defensively. She, for some reason, looked surprised to see him. Then he remembered what had gone down between them just before he'd left hours ago. She must've assumed he wouldn't come back. This gave him pause, but only for a moment. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

Severus pulled the diary out of his pocket and thrust it at Lily.

"Look what I found!"

She didn't seem impressed as she appraised it. "A book?"

"Open it!"

She gave him a questioning look before opening the diary. Severus watched as her eyes widened—she read the words over and over before glancing up to him.

"Is this…?"

"A Horcrux?" Severus supplied. "It might be."

"Well…" Lily said, flipping through the pages. Then she set the diary down on the ground and drew her wand. "_Reducto_!"

The diary was completely unaffected by the spell, though it was blasted up into the air. It landed on the grass several feet away, perfectly intact.

"That would've destroyed an ordinary diary, wouldn't it have?" she said slowly.

Severus was only able to give a brief nod, before she was hugging him while bouncing up and down in excitement. He was knocked off balance and they tumbled down onto the ground, side by side.

"Oops, sorry," Lily giggled, dusting herself off. She was grinning broadly, like she used to, back when they were in school. She had been so happy… and Severus had ruined that for her.

She seemed to notice his serious expression.

"What's wrong, Sev?" she said. Her eyes were so bright and green that he temporarily lost his train of thought. Severus quickly came up with an excuse for his sobriety.

"I don't want you to think it's going to be like this," he said.

"Like what?" she asked, reaching to brush a leaf out of his hair.

Severus drew in a deep breath. Did she not understand what kind of effect she had on him?

"I don't want you to think this is going to be easy," he explained.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I _know_ that." She paused, deliberating. "But we _have_ already found two Horcruxes. There are only four left now."

Severus couldn't help but smile at her optimism. He decided to let it go for now. Truth was, they were making excellent progress.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading and please leave a review! Next chapter will be Sirius's POV. We haven't heard from him in a while :) **


	7. Fiendfyre

Sirius wasn't going to let him escape this time. Another crushing defeat like the last would be more than he could bear. So this time he set certain rules for himself; no messing around. No dramatics.

Everything that Sirius had to say to Peter had been said. The only thing left to do was capture him and not let him escape. As long as Sirius didn't get carried away, it would all turn out. Just then, the door to the apartment opened. He marveled inwardly at just how stupid Peter was.

"Hey, Wormtail," Sirius greeted, and then placed a solid, forceful punch over Peter's eye. Peter probably didn't know what was going on, and Sirius didn't give him any time to figure it out: He stunned him as he crumpled to the ground. Sirius closed the door behind him and stepped back to admire his work.

"Far more efficient than last time, eh?" he said to the bloodied and stunned Peter. "But I'm not going to underestimate you… You aren't a complete git all the time." Sirius found Peter's wand and confiscated it. "Just in case you try to pull a fast-one," he explained, twirling Peter's wand between his fingers. "I shouldn't have stunned you. I suppose it'd be better if I'd petrified you because then you'd be able to hear what I'm saying."

Sirius mulled over this, all the while vocalizing his thoughts, and asking the unconscious Peter for input. This made it all the more amusing. Finally, he came to a decision.

"_Rennervate_. _Petrificus Totalus_."

Peter was stiff as a board on the floor, completely immobilized.

"That's better," Sirius said, leaning over Peter. "Can you hear me? Can you see me? Blink if you can… oh, right you can't blink. But I know you can hear me. Your eye might be a bit too swollen for you to see me, though. It's an effective curse, isn't it? I wonder how long it would take to wear off… If I just left you here, no one would find you, of course. Which do you think would happen first? Would the curse wear off, or would starve to death? Well, I suppose, you'd dehydrate before you'd starve…"

Sirius caught himself. _Right. No dramatics. _Besides, there was something very unsatisfactory about threatening someone so unresponsive. But then again…

"Relax, Wormy," Sirius said. "Loosen up. You seem sort of… tense." He laughed at his own joke. "Sorry, I'm having too much fun. This is an amusing situation for me, I must say. Quite favorable conditions. Here I am, with two wands, and there you are, lying on the floor, unable to escape or defend yourself in any way. Do you find this comical, or am I the only one?"

Sirius waited as though Peter might respond. Of course, he didn't.

"No? Well, I'm having a jolly good time, thank you very much. Now, what to do with you… I suppose I have several options. The easiest one would be to put you on trial and send you to Azkaban. Actually, they don't do many trials these days, so you'd go straight to the dementors. You could be there by lunchtime tomorrow. But I have a problem with this first option…"

Sirius knelt next to Peter and leaned down so their faces were mere inches apart. _To hell with no dramatics…_

"You see, I've always been a fan of vigilante justice. And you've done me a personal wrong. I want you to know that I could kill you and get off scot-free. There's so much chaos around these days, who would notice? Who would miss _you_?"

He sat back, and looked around the apartment room for a moment, giving his rhetorical question ample time to sink in. He opted to not tell Peter one crucial fact: Sirius doubted he could actually kill someone, let alone someone he'd known for so long. Peter may have been a traitor now, but first he had been a friend.

So, he wordlessly took hold of Peter's arm and Apparated both of them to the only place he could think of.

"I will not keep a hostage in the school!" Dumbledore said, rapidly looking back and forth between Sirius and the petrified, black-eyed and bloodied Peter.

"He's not a hostage, per se," Sirius said. "That entails that I would give him back to someone for a price. Consider him more of a prisoner. Like a POW."

Dumbledore was shaking his head adamantly. "Absolutely not… Take him to the Ministry and turn him in."

"But that's no fun!" Sirius blurted, realizing that he sounded like his teenage self again, arguing with Dumbledore about various school rules.

"This isn't supposed to be _fun_," Dumbledore said. "I can't believe that you would bring him here in the first place. What were you thinking?"

Sirius grinned. "This is me we're talking about, right?"

Dumbledore sighed. "So I'm to presume you weren't thinking?"

"Of course not," he said dismissively. "But just hear me out—this is the _traitor_. He's the one who betrayed the Potters to Voldemort."

"And he deserves to go to Azkaban," Dumbledore insisted.

"Doesn't that seem like a light punishment?" Sirius challenged.

"What would you suggest is more fitting? Feeding him to the giant squid?"

"I didn't think of that…" Sirius smiled mischievously.

"Sirius," Dumbledore said strictly, wiping the grin from Sirius's face. "Take Peter to the Ministry now. I will not tolerate this."

"Please, sir," Sirius implored. "He might know something. Can't we just keep him here temporarily? What if he knows about the Horcruxes?"

He could see that Dumbledore was giving this serious consideration. Sirius had always known how to get his way with the headmaster. You just had to know how to talk to him…

"I'll give you one week," Dumbledore said finally.

Understandably, Dumbledore was surprised when Sirius didn't want to interrogate Peter immediately. But Sirius doubted Peter would be of much help, and he wanted to go tell Lily of his success. Dumbledore told him where she was, and he left as soon as Peter was secured inside a rat-proof room. Sirius had had to tell Dumbledore about the Animagus situation. He seemed only a little surprised, mostly impressed, and promised to keep a close watch.

Sirius was now in a strange forest and was squinting through the haze and trees, searching for a tent.

"Lily?" he called. "It's me, Sirius. Lily?"

He waited for a while—no response. He called again in a different direction. After several minutes, he was beginning to wonder whether he was in the right place, or if they had moved on already.

"Sirius?" said a voice from behind him.

He turned around and was instantly confused. There was Lily, but… there was another person next to her. He had long black hair and a hooked nose… Sirius felt the familiar enmity burning in his chest before he fully realized who this man was.

"Snivellus," he snarled.

Snape was glaring back at him just as harshly. "What is _he_ doing here?" he hissed at Lily.

"I could ask the same thing," Sirius said.

Lily, looking rather nervous, moved between them. "Guys, calm down. We're all on the same side now."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Sirius argued.

Lily sighed. "Sirius, Sev had been helping me with the Horcrux Hunt."

Only one word registered with him. "You're calling him 'Sev' again? Have you forgotten what he did to you? What he said to you?"

Snape's face grew even paler as he trembled with rage. Yet he remained silent.

"Honestly, Sirius, forget about your silly school-boy grudge. This is about avenging James and—"

"How exactly are you avenging his death, anyway? By hanging around with the one person he always _despised_?"

"That's a little dramatic. Sure they didn't like each other, but—"

"No, Lily, they hated each other. Apparently you didn't know James so well after all."

Suddenly, something smacked Sirius hard in the side of the face—really hard. He fell to the ground with a thud, feeling rather light-headed. He tasted blood in his mouth.

"Sev, you shouldn't've punched him. That's really not going to help this."

"You think I was going to let him talk to you like that?"

"Please, I could've handled that myself. I was getting ready to give him a nice slap round the face, but you beat me to it."

Snape chuckled.

Sirius picked himself up off the ground, holding his throbbing jaw. Lily narrowed her eyes when she saw him.

"If you ever say anything like that again, I'll blacken your other eye. Permanently," she threatened.

Sirius didn't doubt that. "I'm sorry, Lily, I—"

"You better be. I mean, I bloody married him! I knew him a little better than you did. So let's be clear—James didn't hate Severus. He was just irrationally jealous."

"Jealous?" Sirius and Snape blurted in unison.

"Of me?" Snape sputtered.

Sirius could understand his surprise. How could James ever have been jealous of that slimy scumbag? It didn't make sense.

Lily nodded, but didn't explain further. "But Sirius—why _are_ you here?"

Sirius smiled—he'd forgotten all about it the moment he'd seen Snape. "I got Pettigrew."

Lily's jaw dropped. "You… you _got_ him? Sirius, you didn't…"

"No, no, I didn't _kill_ him," Sirius clarified. "I captured him. He's a Hogwarts now."

Snape snorted. "Because that's the logical place to keep him…"

Sirius turned to him, wondering how Lily would react if he punched him… Snape's nose would look better for it. Technically, he would be doing him a favor.

"Well, with Dumbledore there, it's not like he's going to escape, and we can still get information from him this way, so, yeah, it _is_ the logical place to keep him."

Snape's glare intensified, but he didn't argue.

"Well, that's great Sirius!" Lily exclaimed. She smiled guiltily as she cleaned the blood off his face. "Sorry about that. Is anything broken?"

"I don't think so," Sirius replied. "And you don't have to apologize. You're not the one who socked me."

Lily turned to Snape, who pretended not to notice the pleading look in her eyes. Sirius didn't care—he didn't want Snape's apology.

"So, how's it been going?" Sirius asked casually. "The Horcrux Hunt."

"I just found another Horcrux earlier today," Snape answered.

Sirius tried not to let his surprise register on his face: _Another?_ "So… How many have you found?"

"Two already!" Lily exclaimed. "Can you believe it? Come on, we'll show you."

Sirius followed them to the tent; a small, simple thing set up in a clearing. The inside was surprisingly spacious, but still rather primitive living conditions.

"Here they are," Lily announced. She pointed to a large ring and a worn, leather book on the table. Sirius had a myriad questions running through his mind, but only one seemed important.

"Have you figured out how to destroy them yet?"

"No," Lily mumbled, her face falling.

"We found two Horcruxes, and that's all you have to say?" Snape said. "That it's not good enough? What have you been doing all this time?"

Sirius was unfazed. "Well, as I've said before, I've captured Pettigrew—the traitor. And I didn't mean it like that, I was just wondering."

"Do you have any ideas?" Snape grumbled.

Then, as if by divine inspiration, an idea occurred to him. He knew immediately that it had to be right. But there was only one way to know for sure. Sirius pulled out his wand and quickly performed a spell he had never used before.

"Sirius!" Lily gasped. "What are you…?"

She trailed off as angry red flames consumed the ring. A thick, black substance was leaking from the stone, like blood. There was a faint whistling sound coming from it, like the hiss of steam. Sirius flicked his wand and the flames disappeared. The ring was left on the table, the stone cracked, blackened and smoking.

"How's that for an idea?" Sirius turned to Snape, grinning smugly.

"Fiendfyre," Lily breathed, a smile stretching across her own face. "Sirius, you're brilliant!" She pulled him into a tight hug. "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess." Sirius shrugged, smiling in answer to Snape's death-glares.

Suddenly, Snape had conjured his own Fiendfyre and it was licking at the binding of the book. Ashen flakes of paper swirled like snow around the inside of the tent. Sirius and Lily looked on, mesmerized by the destruction. Finally, the flames were gone.

"Oh," Lily said in alarm. "Oh, well, good! We know how to destroy them. That's great!"

Sirius understood why she sounded disappointed. "You wanted to destroy it, didn't you?" he asked gently. He saw Snape's fists clench out of the corner of his eye. If he even thought about punching him again… Sirius would make sure it was the last thing old Snivelly ever did.

"No," Lily said quickly. "It doesn't matter who does it, right?"

Sirius gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. "You can get the next one. I promise."

She smiled and thanked him—she didn't seem to notice the way Snape was glowering at Sirius.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Are you team Sev or team Sirius? Personally, I love both of them :) Thanks for reading and don't be shy to leave a word or two of review! Comments, critisms, questions, anything... **

**One question from the last chappie: Voldemort survived because there was no spell that backfired in the first place - Lily never died and never put a shield over Harry, so when Voldemort killed Harry the spell didn't rebound and it worked the way it was supposed to. So you can make your own guesses as to whether or not there will be a Chosen One or whatever :) But that doesn't necessarily mean we won't see any more of him... **


	8. Tom Riddle

By the third day, a clear pattern had emerged. Severus may have been the only one who saw it, but it helped him survive the fourth and fifth days. Come the sixth, it all was routine.

Severus was the first to wake every morning without fail. The temperature was coldest in the morning, but the day warmed gradually as the sun burned through the clouds. The first snowfall had come the morning after Sirius's arrival—the first day. Severus considered it a bad omen. By mid-morning, though, the light dusting of snow had melted. The snow hadn't returned since, but thick frost coated the ground usually until noon. Today was no different, except the sky was cloudier. Maybe it would snow later.

Lily was the second to wake. Sometimes Severus would have an entire hour before this happened. He never started breakfast without her. On the second and fifth days he had gone for a walk through the woods. But this morning it was chilly, and the tent was cozy—so he contented to watch Lily sleep. And ignore the urge to kill Sirius in his sleep.

When Lily opened her eyes and yawned, Severus lied and told her he had just woken up. Today it had only been about twenty minutes. Then they ate breakfast as Sirius often slept for two more hours after that. Lily giggled every time he snored, or mumbled things in his sleep—always nonsensical things. Today it was something about Quaffles and goblins, though Severus missed the finer points. He didn't even want to know what Sirius's dreams were about.

"Should we wake him?" Lily asked, smiling fondly at Sirius as he gently tossed and turned.

"No," Severus replied quickly. Sirius was bad enough when he was unconscious.

Lily smiled patiently. "Can't you be the bigger person and at least try to get along?"

He grimaced. "I'd rather not."

Sighing, she pulled out the List. She had started making it on the third day. It was essentially a list of all the possible places Horcruxes could be, which meant anywhere and everywhere. Accomplishing nothing and completely redundant, the List was basically a written-out copy of the map. But it gave Lily something to put her time and effort into.

She, as always, worked on the List until Sirius woke up and crawled across the tent to eat breakfast. Severus prepared himself for what would inevitably happen next. Sirius, having consumed food and raised his blood sugar so he was no longer a lethargic zombie, would pick a fight with Severus—about something insignificant—who would gladly comply, and both would burn off some spare energy in the process. Lily would eventually get them to stop, but after lunch they would reprise their argument. Then they would go to the next spot on the List, set up camp, have something for dinner, and get ready to do the same thing tomorrow.

Severus saw Sirius sniff the air and wrinkle his nose. And so it always began…

"Is that you, Snivelly? I thought something'd died."

"Guys…" Lily said warningly, not looking up from her work. As usual, she was ignored.

"We will all die if you keep eating all our food," Severus said as Sirius poured cereal directly from the box into his mouth.

"He's got a point," Lily said quietly.

Severus was caught off-guard. She never took sides in their frivolous quarrels. She claimed to be "above" them.

"What, you're taking _his_ side?" Sirius blurted, spewing bits of cereal.

"I'm not taking anyone's side…"

"Sure sounded like you were," Sirius grumbled.

"What's wrong with her taking my side, anyway?" Severus challenged.

"I told you, I'm not—" Lily began.

"Because you're…" Sirius seemed stumped. "You're… wrong."

"How am I wrong?" Severus asked. "You _are_ eating all our food. That's just a fact."

"What's the big deal? I'll conjure some more."

"You can't conjure food!" Severus said in exasperation.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I _know_. Can't you take a joke?"

"That wasn't very funny…"

"It wasn't supposed to be _funny_."

"You said it was a joke! Jokes are _supposed_ to be funny!"

"Shut up!" Lily said suddenly.

Severus and Sirius turned to her in surprise.

"Seriously—stop," she continued. "Your stupid arguments really aren't helping anything."

"What else are we supposed to do?" Sirius said. "I mean, I don't see why we don't just get a couple hotel rooms at this rate. This is not a Horcrux Hunt! However the hell you found the first two, I don't really care. But we're not going to find any more by just sitting around until we all want to kill each other."

Severus was torn between agreeing with what Sirius had said, and wanted to punch him again for saying that to Lily. Maybe he could do both.

"Fine, then, you can leave." Lily's eyes flashed. "We were doing a lot better before you came along."

"Right, this is my fault." Sirius's voice was thick with sarcasm. "Of course it is. And, you know what, maybe I will leave. I could probably find the other four."

"And how exactly would you do that?" she demanded.

"Well, for starters, I wouldn't just sit around in a tent all day staring at a _map_."

Lily moved so quickly that no one had much time to react. Severus saw a stream of light rush past his nose and it smacked into Sirius, knocking him backward. Then Lily had rolled up the map in question and was using it to whack Sirius's head and face repeatedly. He flailed his arms, trying to fend her off. Lily still hadn't backed off when Severus reluctantly decided to interfere. He started by verbally dissuading her—to no avail. She had Sirius pinned down and was walloping him with increasing enthusiasm. Severus crossed the tent and confiscated the now-crumpled and torn map, her makeshift weapon, and grabbed her wrists. She struggled against him.

"What the hell, Lily?" Sirius sat up. His face had a few scattered slices—paper-cuts. "I have a paper-cut on my eye. On my _eye_! It hurts."

"That's your _eyelid_. There's a difference. Let me go," she said to Severus, as she tried to squirm out of his grasp.

"I don't think so," he said.

"Why not?" she asked. "You don't care if Sirius gets beat up a little."

"Admittedly, I think he deserves it," Severus said. "But… I also think he has a point."

"What?" Lily and Sirius said in unison, sounding equally confused.

Severus drew in a deep breath, and retained his grip on Lily's wrists. "We're not getting anything done, and if we keep going on like this, we'll never find the other Horcruxes."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What would you suggest?" Her voice was icy.

Severus knew there was only one thing to do—one only person that could help. "We have to go to Hogwarts."

"Back so soon?" Dumbledore said as Lily, Severus and Sirius entered his office.

"Yes," Lily answered. "We've sort of… hit a wall. We got two Horcruxes and we know how to destroy them now, but—"

"Wait, wait," Dumbledore interrupted. "Slow down. You have _two_ Horcruxes? And you know how to destroy them?"

"Severus found another one. It was Voldemort's diary," Lily explained briefly.

"His… diary?" Dumbledore repeated skeptically. "Where was it? It is actually a Horcrux, right?"

"It was at the Malfoy's," said Severus. "And it is definitely a Horcrux. Or, was a Horcrux. It isn't anymore. I killed it."

"With Fiendfyre," Sirius cut in. "My idea. I used it on the ring first."

Dumbledore chuckled, seeming quite overwhelmed. "Well, it seems you're doing just fine on your own. I don't see why you need me."

"No, we do," Lily insisted. "We don't know what to do next—where to go. If you could just give us a good lead… point us in the right direction…"

Dumbledore appeared deep in thought as he rubbed his bearded chin. "I do have one idea…"

Lily's face brightened. An idea was all she needed.

"I can't guarantee anything, though."

She nodded, urging him to continue.

"Voldemort, or Tom Riddle, grew up in an orphanage. The building is in ruins now, but I think if were to go there… you might find something. It certainly couldn't hurt."

Lily felt the excitement rising as Dumbledore explained where the orphanage was and how this was the first place where he had met Tom Riddle when he was a young boy. This was unsettling to Lily—she had never thought about Voldemort having been a child. It was unfathomable to her.

"Oh, and Sirius," Dumbledore said when he was done with his story. "Your week is nearly up."

Sirius nodded solemnly. "I'll, uh… finish up with him then take him to the Ministry."

Dumbledore sighed heavily and dismissed them from his office. Lily and Severus followed as Sirius led them across the castle and into a tall, narrow tower. They ascended the tight spiral stairs and climbed through the trapdoor. Lily came up behind Sirius and Severus behind her. The room was small, dark and windowless. Severus lit his wand, illuminating the close confines.

Lily jumped back when she saw what—or who—was in the room, only a few feet away from her. Slumped against the wall was Peter Pettigrew. His beady eyes were fixed on them, but he remained otherwise motionless. Lily stayed at the back of the room near Severus, while Sirius approached Peter. Peter stared at the wall determinedly, just past Sirius who crouched down beside him.

Lily bit her lip nervously as she looked on. Severus's wand-light was unsteady as he fidgeted in clear discomfort. Meanwhile, Sirius exhaled slowly and glanced down at the wand in his hands. After a moment, he stood up and took a step away, still watching Peter intently. Twirling his wand in his fingers, he cleared his throat.

"How're things at Hogwarts? Glad to be back?"

Peter didn't respond; he stared across the room unblinkingly. Lily found it rather unnerving.

"I'll take it you're not having such a good time," Sirius said. "But no worries—I'll take you down to the Ministry tonight. You'll be in Azkaban before you know it. I'm sure it will be much more… suited to you."

Still no reaction from Peter.

Sirius clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Why does it seem like I'm always the one doing all the talking? Say something."

Peter's mouth remained firmly shut.

"Say something," Sirius repeated, more agitation in his voice. He kicked his foot at Peter. "Say something!" He kicked harder. "Move, at least! What's the matter with you?" Harder still… "Look at me!"

Peter glanced up, wide-eyed, at Sirius's outburst. "Leave me alone!" he said with surprising strength.

Lily saw Sirius's cruel smile even in the dim light.

"Well, I can't do that, Wormtail." He crouched down again. "Now that I've got you talking… there's some information I need to get from you."

Peter was shaking his head. "I don't know anything… you know I—"

"Where are Voldemort's Horcruxes?" Sirius demanded, his wand pressed into Peter's chest.

"Horcruxes? I don't—"

Peter's body convulsed suddenly, like from an electric shock. He gasped and slid farther down the wall, trembling violently.

"Sirius, please, I—"

"Let's try this again," Sirius said maliciously. "Where are Voldemort's Horcruxes?"

"Please, I don't know anything about—"

This time the convulsion was accompanied by a faint zapping sound Lily must have missed the first time. She shuddered, backing up farther and bumping into Severus. He was wearing a grim expression.

It went on like that for a while.

"Where are they?"

"I don't know, please—"

_Zap_!

"Where are they?"

"Sirius, I swear, I—"

_Zap_!

Peter had soon been reduced to a crumpled, sobbing heap on the floor, and Sirius's voice was growing increasingly desperate. Lily could stand it no longer when Sirius threatened the Cruciatus Curse.

"Sirius, stop," she interrupted.

He spun around, his wand gripped tightly in his hand. "Lily, he—"

"He doesn't know anything," she continued. "It's hopeless. Take him to the Ministry."

Sirius nodded slowly. "You're right… I'm—I'm sorry… I'll take him now." He put a quick body-bind on the defenseless Peter and floated him out of the tower and down the stairs ahead of Lily and Severus. They passed a couple wandering students on the way out of the castle. They stared at their Potions professor, probably wondering if his mysterious "leave of absence" was related to the vicious-looking young man and the frozen, levitated, beat-up man a ways ahead of him and Lily. The kids would gawk for a moment before scurrying away. Lily heard at least three of them say, "Was that Professor Snape?"

Severus didn't react to any of this.

"Sorry you have to be away from your job," Lily said.

It seemed to take him a moment to realize what she was talking about. "Oh, it's fine. Really. I don't particularly like teaching…"

One teenage boy down the hall from them said, much too loudly, "Oh bloody hell—looks like Snape's back. I'd hoped he'd died."

Lily tried not to smile and it almost looked like Severus was doing the same.

"I'm not especially fond of children, either," he added.

They both started laughing, garnering even more stares. Lily wondered if the students had ever seen Severus smile…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Some comic relief at the end of a chapter that largely focuses on a lot of people getting beat up... ;) Thanks for reading, please leave a review! **


	9. Primitive Camping

The building was in ruins, as Dumbledore had said it would be. Old, crumbling stone cascaded down the hill like a frozen waterfall, down toward the quaint Muggle village at its base. Lily led the way up to the clearly abandoned orphanage.

"Should we just set the whole thing on fire?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"How would we know if we'd actually gotten any Horcruxes, then?" Severus snapped.

"Yeah, we'll have to go through and look for any," Lily called over her shoulder as she jogged up the hillside, picking her way around the scattered stone, and the occasional patch of snow. She was the first to reach the orphanage and slipped inside through the eroded walls. Light filtered in through the cracks in the ceiling and each beam was thick with specks of floating dust. The air was cold and stagnant. Lily shivered involuntarily. They were almost less prepared for winter than for the rest of the Horcrux hunt. She cupped her ears tenderly; they were beginning to ache.

Soon, Sirius and Severus had climbed in through the gaping hole in the wall—maybe it had been a door at some point, or a large window—and joined her.

"Who's ready to find some Horcruxes?" Sirius's voice echoed in the hollow space.

The three began scouring the area for anything that wasn't part of the building's structure. There wasn't much. They worked their way through, room to room, peering in cracks and behind bricks. Underneath the collapsed stairs, Lily spotted something. She couldn't place what it was right away, but it was pale with large eyes… An eerie sense of foreboding came over her. Suddenly, there was movement and sound from behind her and the pale thing burst apart violently, shard of it flying through the air as Lily leapt back. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she didn't know why.

"Why did you do that?" Severus's voice. Bitter, accusatory.

"Wanted to see if it was a Horcrux." Sirius's answer. Nonchalant, dismissive.

"Yes," Severus scoffed, "because the Dark Lord would make an old porcelain doll's head into a Horcrux."

"It was worth a shot," Sirius argued. "No harm done. And can you please stop calling him 'the Dark Lord' like some filthy Death Eater? Seriously! It's _Voldemort_."

"Sirius, it doesn't matter," Lily said weakly, not wanting to hear another one of their lengthy arguments. One of the painted blue eyes was lying at her feet, staring up at her. She was so transfixed she hardly noticed Sirius's lecture on how it did, in fact, matter. Carefully, she stepped on the shard of porcelain, feeling it crunch beneath her toes. The doll's head was the only thing they'd found so far besides loose bricks, shattered light fixtures and scraps of furniture. They had to have been searching for hours at this point. And all in vain.

Lily was thoroughly chilled, her teeth beginning to chatter. She looked around at Severus and Sirius. Their breath came out in puffs of fog. She was surprised they hadn't started complaining about the cold yet, though both were vigorously rubbing their hands together.

"Let's call it a day," Lily said finally. "We can look more tomorrow."

They hurriedly set up the tent on the spot, inside the ruins of the orphanage. Miraculously, Sirius and Severus worked together in their mutual desperation to thaw out. The three of them huddled inside at long last. Lily conjured a small, bright and easily controllable flame. It was soon warm enough to lose their heavy coats.

Unsurprisingly, Sirius was the first one asleep. He still slept like a teenager—sprawled out, dead to world, for up to twelve hours. The soft warmth and mesmerizing quality of the flame was lulling Lily to sleep as well. She was nearly there, when she heard Severus addressing her.

"Do you think there's anything here?"

It took her a minute to decipher the meaning of his vague question. "Dumbledore said there might be," she mumbled. "It's the only lead we have, anyway. I'm thinking it might be buried under the orphanage or something…"

"Yeah, maybe."

Although her eyes were closed, Lily could sense that he was still awake, not even lying down or trying to fall asleep. "Sev?"

"Yeah?" His response came quickly, as if he was expecting it.

"Go to sleep."

She didn't hear any rustles to hunt that he was settling in for the night. She opened her eyes a crack, and, sure enough, he was still sitting up.

"Shouldn't someone stay up?" he asked. "To stand guard?"

Lily rubbed her eyes, slightly startled. "Why? No one knows what we're doing… right?"

"Of course not," he said. "But just in case…"

She smiled tiredly. "You can stay up if you want, but I'm not taking a shift, and I don't Sirius would sacrifice any of his beauty sleep."

Severus let out a loud bark of laughter and Sirius stirred and rolled over. They muffled their snickers and both nestled into a sleeping bag, drifting off at last.

The next morning, a fluffy layer of snow had coated the ground, and weighed down on the top of the tent. The sun was blindingly bright, but didn't radiate the slightest amount of heat. Indeed, the temperature was so forbidding, and the tent so comfortable, that they spent the entire morning and much of the afternoon inside. Needless to say, Sirius slept through most of this time, none the wiser to the wasted time that was so bothering Lily.

The lightest part of the day passed, and long shadows fell.

"We won't be able to do much with all this snow," Lily said yet again, trying to convince herself that it wasn't a criminal loss of time.

Severus nodded. "Exactly. All the snow will have blown in the orphanage. Everything will be covered up by it."

"But it's not the snow is going to melt," she said fretfully. "This big of a snowfall is going to stick around until… until _spring_! It's already late December. It's just going to keep snowing at this point."

"Lily, don't worry about it," Severus said absently.

"Don't worry about it?" she repeated through clenched teeth. "That's your advice?"

"Listen, there might not be anything here."

She narrowed her eyes at his tone of voice. "You sound like you don't even care."

"I do, but…" Severus looked guilty. "We already got two Horcruxes. And that's better than I ever thought we'd do."

"So you're saying we should just give up? Call it quits?"

He hesitated, apparently not noticing or caring that he was treading dangerous waters. Lily was like a boiler these days. And currently her pressure gauge was off the charts.

"Not necessarily. But we're not going to be able to get much done in the winter. We can take this slow. Gather up all the information first, then find the Horcrux. Go one by one."

She didn't appreciate his rationalism. "By the time we've done that Voldemort will have taken over the world!"

Severus frowned. A crease appeared in his forehead. "Okay, okay," he sighed. "Do you want to start now?"

"Yes, if you don't mind." Lily tossed a pillow in the general direction of Sirius's head and it woke him immediately. He scowled at her.

"Get up. We're looking for Horcruxes," Severus said briskly.

Lily couldn't help but notice that Severus was more interested in the hunt when it was sure to annoy Sirius.

"Again?" Sirius muttered. Then he seemed to realize what he'd said and looked up at Lily with wide eyes.

"What is it with you two?" she cried.

"Me?" Severus sputtered. "I'm the one who—"

"Oh, don't give me that," she snapped. "You were ready to pack your bags and head home two minutes ago."

"No, I—"

"My point is," she said, cutting across him once again, "do either of you really want to kill Voldemort?"

"Of course!" Severus said indignantly.

"Obviously." Sirius rolled his eyes. "But not in the _snow_."

Lily drew in a deep breath. "Fine, then. I'll do it by myself."

Sirius groaned. "Lily, you know I want to do this just as much as you do, but honestly. It would do us all good to have a vacation. Somewhere warm."

Lily snorted. "What, you want to go on a Caribbean cruise, or something?"

"Okay, not what I meant. We need a break. Like just one day. We're going to get frostbite! I don't even have gloves."

"It's just a little below freezing," Lily said thoughtfully. "I might have an extra pair."

She did not, in fact, have an extra pair of gloves, but was able to convince Sirius to venture outside anyway. Lily led the trek through the orphanage, through which snow had drifted in the night, making it a tedious journey. Several times one of three, in dragging their feet through the light snow, stubbed their toe on a buried brick. Exactly that happened to Sirius, just after he had mocked Severus for being in the same situation.

Sirius swore loudly and fell back in the snow-bank, clutching his foot.

Severus was laughing to the point of nearly falling over himself. "It's called karma, Black."

"So are we just going on a fun winter wonderland hike or are we actually going to start looking for Horcruxes?" Sirius asked, glaring up at Lily.

"We are," she insisted. "Now stop complaining, get up and let's go."

Sirius muttered something under his breath that Lily chose to ignore. They continued trudging through the snow at even slower pace than before, Sirius lagging behind and following in Severus's footprints.

They searched until darkness fell. They destroyed many things, most of them abandoned, broken toys—none of them Horcruxes. By the light of their wands, they returned to the tent late that night, frozen stiff and demoralized. Lily hid under her sleeping bag, shivering and waiting for her body heat to fill up the small space. It took a long time, and even longer for her to fall asleep.

A few more days like that and they were going through the same rooms of the orphanage over and over. More snow fell, and the temperature plummeted. They hardly spoke to one another. That meant no big fights had occurred. But Lily knew that could only last for so long. And she was right. They had just come in from another long day. The air was warmer, above freezing in fact, but that was not necessarily a good thing. They were soaked to the skin from melting snow and Lily felt rather hypothermic. At least it had always seemed like a painless, passive death, hypothermia… Lily shook her head. She couldn't think like that.

On top of it all, they were extremely low on food and had been on a ration system for the past three days. Everyone was rather irritable, to say the least.

"Hey," Severus said suddenly, making Lily jump. She didn't think anyone had spoken yet all day. "You know what I just realized?" He held up the calendar that they occasionally referenced, until it got too depressing. "It's Christmas Eve."

"Oh," Lily said. "Well, happy Christmas."

"I say we postpone it," Sirius said. "After all, we haven't much of a feast." He gestured to the can of soup being heated over a magically conjured flame.

"Or cancel it altogether," Lily added. "I don't feel like celebrating."

"Well, yeah," Severus said. "I wasn't suggesting we throw a party or anything, just saying that it's Christmas."

"What would we have to celebrate anyway?" Sirius said. Apparently a nerve had been struck. "This has been the worst year on record. I guess we should be happy that it's almost over, but next year could be even worse, I suppose…"

"How could it possibly be worse than this year?" Lily snapped.

"Well," Sirius began, seeming to put some thought into it, "let's say Voldemort finds out that we're hunting Horcruxes and kills all three of us, but allows my lovely cousin Bella to have some fun first. That would be pretty bad."

"Not worse than my own son getting killed in front of me," Lily said quietly, but in a voice laced with venom.

Sirius sighed heavily. "Okay, I understand that you have this weird thing about not valuing your own life or whatever, but some of us don't want to risk it all so we can go primitive camping in January."

A nerve of her own having been struck with vicious accuracy, she leapt to her feet. "You always said you were James's best friend, and he made you Harry's godfather, but do you not even care that they're _dead_? Are you gonna let Voldemort get away with killing them?"

Sirius was also on his feet, and Severus had backed up in the far corner of the tent, his head swiveling back and forth between them as if watching a fast-paced tennis match.

"Of course I care! You have no idea how it affected me when they died, Lily. _No idea. _But unlike you, I know a bad lead when I see one. There are no Horcruxes here!"

Lily furrowed her brow. So that was what this was about. "But Dumbledore said that—"

"I know what Dumbledore said! I was _there_. But he's not always right, you know. I understand that it's the only hope you have, and you're clinging to that; I get it, okay? But we're just wasting time out here. Whether you like it or not, we're _wasting time_. We could be trying to figure out what one of the Horcruxes is, or where they are, but instead we're back where we were a week ago: _Nowhere_. And we can't go crawling back to Dumbledore every time we need help. I doubt he knows much more than we do at this point. We're on our own now."

Lily could only stare as she tried to formulate a response. With each passing second, Sirius's eyebrows raised higher and higher, in smug anticipation of her answer.

"Exactly," he said shortly, turning away. "Let's pack up now. Might as well."

"We're _not packing up_," Lily said slowly, over-enunciating each word.

"Why?" Sirius asked, bewildered. "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Yeah, I did. Loud and clear."

"So… what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that you don't have any better ideas as to where to go. We're just going to end up doing this exact same thing in a new location, right?"

"Maybe, but, you know, indoors with plumbing…"

"So we're going to sacrifice the mission so you can be _comfortable_?"

"Sacrifice?" Sirius echoed, looking to Severus for backup. "And since when is it 'the mission'?"

"Voldemort grew up here," Lily said. "There may not be any Horcruxes in the orphanage, but there's a good chance there'll be something around here. This is the only lead we have, and you want to abandon it so you can have a hot shower and sleep in a real bed?"

Sirius, for some reason, smiled. "Lily, I know. This is the only hope you have, and you're—"

"Stop saying that!" she shrieked. "I'm not 'clinging' to it! Since when are you a bloody psychologist?"

He looked taken aback. "Lily, I think you may be in denial."

She shook her head slowly back and forth. She forced her voice to remain calm, but her hands were trembling. "I advise you get out of here."

Sirius blinked. "What?"

"Right now. Before I remember the incantation for that curse that makes you drown in your own blood."

"I don't think there's a curse for that…"

"Really? I remember reading about it somewhere…" Lily was bluffing, but Sirius looked rather nervous.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Is that what you want to hear?"

"No," she said. "What I want is for you to get out. Go to your five-star hotel. Maybe Voldemort hid a Horcrux in your room. Far more likely than the town he grew up in, don't you think?"

Sirius drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, his eyes sliding shut for a moment. Then, wordlessly, he began gathering up his things from around the tent.

Lily was startled. "Sirius… what—?"

"I'm leaving," he said. "Like you wanted me to."

She bit her lip. "But—"

"Oh, so you didn't _really_ want me to leave? Sounded like you did. And you know what, now I kind of want to leave myself. Besides, that five-star hotel sounds really nice… Good luck with your hunt; I'm starting mine."

Sirius didn't even bother to leave the tent, but Disapparated on the spot. Lily's ears were ringing from the loud noise as she turned to Severus.

"Sorry," she mumbled, plopping down on her sleeping bag.

"You think I'm sad to see him go?" Severus said with a faint smile. "Good riddance."

Lily shrugged and buried her face in her hands.

"Plus, it's probably smart to split up. Good offensive strategy," he added coyly.

Lily smiled despite herself. "Thanks for putting up with me."

Severus grinned. "The pleasure is mine, I assure you."

Lily thought for a moment that he sounded too sincere… but she shrugged it off and took the can of soup off the heat. "More for us."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Arguments/fights are my absolute favorite to write :) Who won this round? Who do you side with, Lily or Sirius? And some of you have asked about Lupin: He will come into the story later on, but it will be a little while.**


	10. Confessions

Lily had managed to get herself into yet another embarrassing and difficult situation. No surprise there. Of course it had been on her mind for a while that there were no Horcruxes in the orphanage—and probably none in the town either. The more she thought about it, the more this made sense. Voldemort, who had a bit of a dramatic flair according to Dumbledore, wouldn't put a piece of his soul in the ruins of an orphanage in a small, Muggle town. But after making a big scene with Sirius last night, she was far too proud to admit she was wrong. She vowed to not lose her head next time someone questioned her authority.

And what authority was this? Who had made her the leader of the hunt? She had promoted herself to the position, unofficially, and was no more qualified than anyone else. In fact, the other two had been far more helpful… actually finding a Horcrux, and discovering how to destroy them.

"I think we've already searched the orphanage pretty well," Severus said tentatively.

Lily smiled. He was so the opposite of Sirius, who seemed to thrive to irritate her at times. "There're no Horcruxes in the orphanage," she mumbled.

"So… do you want to go into the town?"

She nodded hesitantly. "It couldn't hurt."

"There might be something there," Severus pointed out.

"I don't think there will be," Lily admitted.

"Are you saying Sirius was right?"

She bit her lip. "No in so many words…"

Severus chuckled. "Do you want to go into town anyway? It's Christmas Eve."

"I suppose. Could be… fun."

"For lack of a better word?" Severus suggested.

She nodded and yawned widely. "You know, I might pull a Sirius and sleep for another two… ten hours."

He laughed again. "Go right ahead. You could use some rest."

Wondering whether or not she should feel offended, Lily curled up in her sleeping bag and drifted off easily. When she woke awhile later, she had the contented feeling of not knowing how long she had slept, and not caring. Severus had evidently left the tent, so it must have been fairly long. She could see the darkness falling around the hilltop, but the sun set so early in these short days. Feeling both refreshed and nearly faint from hunger, she crawled toward the flap-doors of the tent.

Suddenly, a blast of freezing air hit her in the face. Severus ducked inside.

"You're awake," he said. "Do you want to walk down to the village? See what we can find?"

"I don't really want to look for Horcruxes…" she admitted with a guilty smile. "I know, I'm a hypocrite."

"It's fine, Lily," Severus said. "It's too cold for that kind of thing anyway." He grinned crookedly.

"My thoughts exactly." They bundled up in their worn winter clothes and left the tent. The hill was steep and slippery in the snow, and they maneuvered slowly, clinging to each other for stability.

The tiny, rustic Muggle village was bustling and festive. It seemed like all its residents were milling about, laughing and singing carols. Each door was adorned with a wreath, and a smoke billowed from every chimney.

"Probably going to church," Lily noted, as they walked against the traffic flow. They were attracting curious looks; they were strangers in a town where everybody knew everyone else.

"Should we go?" Severus asked.

She gave it a moment of consideration. "No. I'm hungry."

Laughing, they ducked into a café that smelled of coffee and spices. The Muggle girl behind the counter didn't look pleased to see customers and didn't try to hide it. "I was just closing up," she said sourly.

"Can we get something really quick?" Severus asked hopefully.

She sighed impatiently. "Fine. What do you want?"

They ordered two hot cocoas and most of the desserts left in the display case. They took a booth by the window to eat. The Muggle girl tapped her nails on the counter and jingled her keys in an obvious attempt to get them to hurry up. Regardless, they took their time, samping the cakes, cookies and crème brulee.

"I wish this was butterbeer," Lily said of her hot cocoa. Severus looked over to the Muggle girl, who was currently facing the other way, wiping the counters for the third time. Quickly, Severus took his wand and pointed it at Lily's hot cocoa then stowed it and glanced around the make sure no Muggle had seen.

"There," he said. "It's butterbeer now."

Lily took a sip and felt the instantly warming effect. "Thanks, Sev."

They finished up and were ushered out the door. The town's residents were leaving the church now and meandering through the downtown area, lit by streetlamps and glow from windows. Lily and Severus were again going against the current of the crowd, back toward the orphanage on top of the hills. The starlight grew brighter the farther away from the village they got—unadulterated by the streetlamps and houselights.

The moon was the tiniest sliver in the inky sky; it would be gone completely by the next night, and then start the process of waxing again. Lily thought of Remus, as she always did when looking at the moon. How he hated the new moon… She wondered what he had been up to for the past month or so of the hunt. Surely he would want to help. She should've asked him. By now, Sirius had probably recruited him for his own hunt. She was sure the two of them would be able to find the rest of the Horcruxes with little trouble. Hopefully they'd save at least one for her…

The warmth of the butterbeer starting to wear off, Lily and Severus entered the tent. It offered limited protection from the elements and always took a while to heat up to a comfortable temperature. Severus sat down, propped up on a pillow. He rubbed his hands together. Lily could still see his breath and her own. Slowly, she moved beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. He was very still—no longer rubbing his hands, or breathing. Then his arm wrapped around her, tentatively.

She smiled. "You're wonderful."

"I'm not."

"And humble…" Her head slipped down onto his chest. Even when the air inside the tent had warmed up, she didn't move, for by then she had fallen asleep.

* * *

><p>Severus didn't manage to get much sleep that night. He was overly alert of the rate of Lily's breathing, and every time she fidgeted and shifted in her sleep. His heart was heavy in his chest; breathing was difficult, supporting his theory that one could literally drown in guilt.<p>

But above all, he could not get over the tickle of her hair against his arms, or how warm and soft she was… how her eyes moved behind the lids in a dream. He kissed the top of her head again and again, pretending that she knew what he was doing, but was so accostumed to it that she didn't react.

Around the darkest part of the night, the snow began to fall—he watched the top of the tent droop as it was weighted down with snow. It continued through the sunrise. He watched all the different colors of the sky through the slit in the flap-doors. He had never realized how many colors were involved in a simple sunrise, though he couldn't remember ever watching one.

Although the day was bright, it was colder than ever. The wind howled around the hilltop with a vengeance, slipping in through the seams of the tent. A chill ran up his spine, and he held Lily closer.

She mumbled something in her sleep. His breath caught in his throat. Did she say what he thought she said? He waited… and she said it again, more loudly and clearly.

"James…"

His stomach clenched. Finally, her eye fluttered open. She twisted her head around to look up at Severus. Then she smiled. The knot in Severus's stomach tightened. Why did she have to keep doing that? Smiling like that?

"Happy Christmas," she said sleepily.

He gave her an uneasy smile in return, all too aware of her weight, heavy on his chest; almost as heavy as his guilt.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concern crossing her brilliantly green eyes. She wrapped her arms around him, and pressed her ear against his chest. She giggled. "Your heart is pounding…"

Embarrassed, Severus took her by the wrists and gently but firmly guided her away from him, so they were face to face. "I have to tell you something."

She smiled again and he noticed how the action lit up her emerald eyes as though they'd been turned on by a light switch. "Okay, tell me."

He took in a deep breath. "You'll hate me."

"How could I ever hate you?"

Severus remembered a time when she did, but he didn't mention it. That could never compare to how she would feel about him once he told her. "You'd be surprised how easily."

She rolled her eyes. "I promise I won't hate you."

He closed his eyes tightly. "It's my fault." When he risked a peek, Lily looked confused.

"What's your fault?"

"Everything…"

She waited for him to explain, the smile rapidly fading from her face… her eyes were darkening… hardening…

"Do you know why the Dark Lord targeted your family and Harry in particular?"

Lily shifted uncomfortably, clearly troubled. "Where is this going, Sev?"

_Somewhere I don't want to go, but know I have to…_ "Do you know why?" he persisted, watching her face carefully, waiting for the moment of comprehension with great dread.

She nodded bleakly. "There was a prophecy." Her voice was flat. She ran her hands through her hair. "Listen, I don't want to talk about this…"

"I have to tell you!" he blurted. "I can't stand it anymore." Why couldn't she understand? Why couldn't she see what he'd done? Did he have to spell it out for her? "I overheard the prophecy," he said slowly and heavily.

Lily appeared even more confused. "I… don't understand."

He sighed quietly and tried again, forcing himself to look her in the eyes. It was a hard enough thing to do when he wasn't about to ruin her world—again. "I was still a Death Eater at the time. I didn't know what the prophecy meant, so… I repeated everything I heard to the Dark Lord."

He could see something change in her face, and rushed on, anxious to take advantage of her delayed reaction to explain himself.

"When he decided that it meant you, or your son, I tried to talk him out of it, I swear I did—I went to Dumbledore for help, to get you protection—I did everything I could—"

"But it wasn't enough, was it?"

Severus flinched at the razor-sharp bite of Lily's words. Her expression of shock had changed to horror and then to disgust and fury in a matter of seconds. It had sunk in. There was nothing he could do, but see how she would take it. He decided he deserved whatever she did or said to him.

"Lily, I'm sorry. Really, I—"

"I don't want to hear it!" she shrieked. Angry tears began to stream down her blotchy cheeks, and she was regarding him with the utmost loathing. "You killed them! Is that why you're here, then, trying to redeem yourself? You really haven't changed—I thought you might've, I thought you were different now. You're just the same as you always were…"

"Always…?" he echoed helplessly. He watched in devastation as she dashed around the tent, haphazardly throwing everything into her bag. All the while, she choked out insults, screamed them if she had the energy.

Lily left the tent and began tearing it down manually with Severus still inside. He scrambled out and looked on. Snow was still falling heavily in large flurries, swirling about in the heavy wind. He'd lost all sensation in his extremities almost immediately. Lily, who was in stocking feet and a short-sleeved shirt, didn't even seem to notice the cold. She was violently stuffing the tent into the bag, letting out a frustrated scream every now and then.

Timidly, Severus stepped forward. "You have to believe me that I never wanted this to happen. I didn't do this on purpose and I did everything I could… I convinced the Dark Lord to spare you—"

She whirled around, her eyes afire. "What, you want me to _thank_ you or something?"

"No, no, I—"

"Well, thanks a million, Snivellus, where would I be without you?"

"You'd be dead," he muttered.

She paused, and narrowed her gaze to an impossibly piercing pinpoint. "Exactly. I'd be so much better off if I'd never met you, d'you know that? I wish I never had… but the best I can do is hope I'll never see you again. Will you grant me that one wish? Promise you'll never try to find me?"

Her words, tone and glare combined were too much to bear. He nodded despairingly—he didn't want to know what would come out if he opened his mouth. He would probably fall to his knees in the snow and beg her not to go. Seemingly satisfied, Lily turned on her heel.

"Have a nice life, Snivelly," she said. "Thanks for ruining mine."

The crack of her Disapparation was the worst sound Severus had ever heard. He crossed his arms over his chest and hung his head. Alone and shivering on the hilltop, the tears froze as soon as they left his eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: :'( Do you feel bad for Sev? Do you emphasize with Lily? I want to hear your thoughts! They're more important than mine! **


	11. The Hunt Continues

For his entire life, Sirius had been given a hard time by his overly vocal conscience. He also had a habit of acting impulsively, and the two were not a pleasant combination. He kept replaying everything he had said to Lily only earlier that day, and flinched with each memory.

Now, he was actually staying in a hotel, though not an upscale one by any stretch of the imagination. It was dumpy, and cheap; his room smelled of cigarette smoke and there were several suspicious stains on the floor. He wondered, with a trace of a smile on his face, whether anyone had ever been murdered here.

Since he hadn't had any Muggle money, and couldn't recall what it looked like well enough to conjure some, he'd had to Confund quite a few people to earn the room. He had the window open—partly to get some fresh air and partly to find an owl. It was Christmas Eve, or, rather, early Christmas morning, and snow was beginning to fall, blowing in through the window.

Sirius had scrawled a quick note to Dumbledore, briefly explaining that there was nothing at the orphanage, how he had split off from Lily and Snape, where he was now staying, and asking for additional information about Horcruxes. Even as he wrote it, he knew what a hypocrite he was. But Lily didn't have to know he was still "crawling back to Dumbledore" as Sirius had put it such a short time ago. And it couldn't hurt… The old man might prove to be withholding information, for whatever reason.

The room was growing colder with each passing minute, and he still hadn't seen anything fly by. "Come on, I just need one owl," he grumbled. Barely a moment later, perfectly on cute, a bird swooped in through the window.

Sirius jumped up and quickly fastened the letter to the owl's leg.

"Thanks, mate. Sorry you're stuck working on Christmas."

The owl hooted indignantly and left the room, soaring off into the dark night and swirling snow. Sirius eagerly closed the window and fell back onto the bed—its springs creaking—on top of the covers and fully dressed. He was asleep within a few minutes, leaving the lights on, and managed a couple restless hours of sleep that left him even more tired than he was before.

An incessant tapping at his window woke him unreasonably early the next morning. Grumpily, he opened it and let the owl inside and untied the note around its leg.

_Sirius—  
>I hope you forgive me for not responding immediately, but it is rather bad etiquette to owl someone at three-thirty in the morning. I'm sure you meant no harm by it.<br>I'm disappointed to hear you've had a falling out, but am confident you'll be able to fix things. In order to motivate you, I refuse to provide any additional information (that I may or may not possess) until you do so.  
>Happy Christmas.<em>  
>—<em>Albus Dumbledore<em>

Sirius crumpled up the letter and threw it toward the trashcan in the corner of the room. The wad of paper bounced off the rim and landed on the floor. It was all too easy for Sirius to hate Dumbledore at times like these.

He lay back on the bed again and let the owl leave. So now he had absolutely no choice but to return to Lily, apologizing through his teeth… He _was_ sorry, but that didn't mean he wanted to admit it to her. Another thing he would be wise to improve upon.

Sirius ventured forth from the hotel room around mid-morning. He joined some miserable Muggles at the breakfast buffet. One particularly unkempt man in the corner let out a series of hacking coughs intermittently. Indeed, every time Sirius went to take a bite of something, he would cough so loudly and repulsively that Sirius had a hard time swallowing.

"Classy place, eh?" he said to a heavyset woman sitting at the table next to his. She appraised him for a moment with beady eyes before returning her attention to her Belgian waffles.

Sirius was about to take a sip of his coffee when the hacker let out another phlegm-plentiful cough. He sighed and put the mug down firmly on the table.

"You know what?" he said to the same woman. "I think that guy over there by the TV—the one who keeps coughing—I think he works here. It's a conspiracy. They've hired him to sit down here and do that so all the guests lose their appetites."

She raised her overly-plucked eyebrows and took another forkful of syrupy waffles. Sirius shook his head and stood up.

"Well, happy Christmas," he grumbled and trudged back up to his room, grabbing a bagel on the way.

By early afternoon, Sirius had contented to lying back on the bed, his feet hanging off the end, staring at the ceiling. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do. Suddenly, there was a loud _crack_. He bolted upright. It sounded as if someone had Apparated directly into his room… and someone had. It was Lily.

She didn't look so well. Her eyes were red and her cheeks stained with dried tears. Before he could get a word out she began rambling slurred, hysterical words.

"Sirius, it's Snape—he's—he's a—the prophecy—and Voldemort—he told him—it's his fault! All his fault…"

Forgetting his confusion for a moment, he pulled Lily to sit next to him. "What's Snape's fault?"

She took a deep, rattling breath and held it for a moment. "You remember the prophecy? I think James told you about it." Her voice was calm on the surface, but there was a frenzied undertone.

Sirius nodded slowly.

Her next words came out all in one breath, strung together. "Snape heard the prophecy and repeated it to Voldemort."

It only took a second or two for Sirius to make the connection. His fists clenched automatically.

"I knew it," he hissed.

He thought of the black-haired man in question with refreshed hatred. He was pacing the small room, wringing his hands, not completely aware of himself anymore. Then he turned back to Lily.

"You wanted revenge, right?" he asked, his gray eyes flaming.

She chewed on her lip as he towered over her. "Well, yes, but—"

"It's just as much Snape's fault as Wormtail's."

"I know…"

"So what's the problem then? Peter was my friend since first year. He was your friend, too. You had no problem going after him, so why not—?"

"It's different!" she insisted. "I don't want to see him again, but I don't want to…"

"Hurt him? Kill him? It's his fault! You said it yourself! If it wasn't for him, they'd both be alive."

"He didn't mean to… he didn't know…"

Sirius's eyes widened in his incredulity. "Are you actually _defending_ him? Snape? You are, aren't you?"

Lily shrugged and he threw up his hands in exasperation. "Please, Sirius, you're always like this… I'm not ready to forgive him—"

"I'd hope not!" he scoffed.

"—but I don't want to kill him."

Sirius sighed and leaned against the wall, picking at the faded and peeling wallpaper.

After a minute or so, Lily said, "So this is your luxury hotel?"

He grinned crookedly. "How'd you find me?"

The smile looked out of place on her tragic face. "Dumbledore knows all."

* * *

><p>After all this time, Severus had finally sunk to the level of arguing with a gargoyle statue. He was only surprised it hadn't happened sooner.<p>

"But I'm a Professor!" he said in exasperation. "So what if I don't know the password?"

The gargoyle didn't move—only seemed to smirk at him.

Severus scowled. "If you don't move right now, I'll—"

"Threatening a statue, are we, Severus?" said a familiar and amused voice from behind him. Severus spun around, startled, to see Dumbledore, standing there with crossed arms and twinkling eyes.

"I have to talk to you."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "You're alone?"

"Yes. Can we go in?"

Wordlessly, Dumbledore stepped up to the gargoyle and it moved aside. They started their way up the spiral stairs. Severus couldn't help but feel disgruntled that the gargoyle didn't demand a password from Dumbledore. When they reached the office, they assumed their usual positions: Dumbledore in the large, high-backed chair behind the desk, and Severus in the small, unremarkable chair in front of it.

"I was wondering if I can have my teaching position back," Severus said sullenly, before Dumbledore could get a word out.

"Where's Lily?"

"I told her," he said meaningfully.

Understanding crossed Dumbledore's blue eyes. "I see… you told her the truth. I assume she didn't take it well, but you can't blame her."

"She hates me."

"She hates what you _did_."

"No, she hates _me_," Severus repeated. "You weren't there… you didn't see her… you didn't hear what she said…"

"True," Dumbledore allowed. "But I know Lily."

"I know her better," he insisted, ignoring the childishness of his words.

Dumbledore let it slide, too. "So you want to abandon the hunt now?" There was an edge to his voice, one of frustration.

"She never wants to see me again. What else is there to do?"

"The only reason you went on the hunt was to be with Lily?"

Severus furrowed his brow. "Well, yeah… And you told me to."

"You don't care, then, about killing Voldemort?"

Severus sighed. "To be honest, I don't think it can be done. Even if he didn't have any Horcruxes. But he's got six!"

"Four," Dumbledore corrected. "There are only four Horcruxes left."

"And we've already used up our quota of luck finding the first two," Severus said bitterly. "And the orphanage—there was nothing there! A complete waste of time. Thanks for that."

Dumbledore removed his spectacles, intensifying his gaze. "I apologize. It was the only idea I had at the time, and I regret that I was wrong."

"Must be a shocker, being wrong, for you—isn't it?"

Dumbledore slammed a hand down on the desk, causing Severus to jump. "If you've come here to blame all your problems on me, you can leave. I'm not giving you your job back until Voldemort is dead."

"Then I'd better start looking for a new job, because we all know that's never going to happen." Severus knew that a dramatic exit would have had a profound effect, but his legs wouldn't move. The silence was heavy; the tension, tangible. Severus stared at the desk, and finally gave in. "Sorry. What do you think I should do? I'm so lost."

Dumbledore leaned back in his seat. "Lily will soon realize that she's no better off without you. She has no information to go on. If you go to her with a good lead, I think she'll be willing to come with you, and eventually she'll be able to forgive you."

Severus doubted this. "Won't it be the orphanage all over again? Crushing her hopes?"

"No. I'm willing to bet I have the right location this time."

It took a moment for Severus to make sense of this. "You have another idea?"

"Yes. It's very near to the place you just were—somewhere Voldemort went as a young boy. It has more significance to him and is secure and hidden. The more I think about it, the surer I am that this is the place. I would go there myself, but this is something Lily has to do."

Severus was hanging on the edge of his seat, both figuratively and literally, listening intently to every word. "Where is it?" he pressed in a low voice.

"It is a cave on the coast, near a small village. The children from the orphanage went there on a holiday, and Voldemort did something to two of the kids there… near the cave, or possibly inside of it… something they never spoke of."

A chill ran down Severus's spine. He could only imagine what kinds of thing a young Voldemort would be capable of doing.

"I will not claim to know there is a Horcrux there, but there's a good chance," Dumbledore said. "Find Lily and tell her… but it'd be wise to wait a few days. I'm sure she's too determined to let an opportunity like this slip by."

"I don't know where she is," Severus muttered. "And she'll kill me before I get the chance to explain." He realized he might not be exaggerating.

Dumbledore sighed and slipped his glasses back onto his crooked nose. "So you want to give up? Not just on the hunt, but on her?"

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "Can't I go to the cave myself?"

"It would be very dangerous; _that_ I am certain of," Dumbledore warned. "It's hard to say whether or not you would make it out alive if you were to attempt it alone."

Severus decided that Dumbledore was just trying to scare him into patching things up with Lily. So he told him what he wanted to hear. "Okay, I won't go alone. Can you tell me where the cave is so Lily and I can go straight away? As soon as I find her?"

Dumbledore's eyes bored into Severus's for several long seconds, as if he was attempting Legilimency. But he was being rather obvious about it, and Severus was never reluctant to make use of his Occlumency. Eventually, the headmaster seemed satisfied and began to explain the specifics of the cave's location. Severus listened raptly, all the while wondering if this would be a suicide mission… wondering if he should honor his word and find Lily before the cave… But he knew that she would be far more likely to forgive him if he came to her with a Horcrux in hand.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, what do you think will happen? Please leave a review—each one makes my day! **


	12. The Cave

Severus could taste the salt in the air and in the water that sprayed his face. The day was overcast and frigid; wind whipped around the rocky shore and steep cliffs, almost knocking him off-balance. He crouched down low on the jagged rock and moved to the edge of it, using his hands to grip the surface and scraping them raw in the process. He crawled down the side of the large rock, placing each foot carefully on the wet, slippery surface. He could feel how cold the water was and shivered in anticipation.

Finally, he had gone as far as he could. Squeezing his eyes shut he slid into the water. His lungs contracted and he struggled for breath. Slowly, tediously, he began to swim. His waterlogged robes dragged behind him in the thick, icy water. He entered a long, narrow tunnel. It was dark and dank inside. Severus pulled his wand.

"_Lumos_," he breathed. The tip of the wand ignited, filling the small space with light. He continued swimming, now only able to use one arm. He switched arms periodically, whenever one tired, but it was still difficult to keep his wand raised above the water level. He was shivering violently, and his wet hair was freezing to his head. Yet he pushed on, around a bend in the tunnel. It seemed to go on forever. His wand-light didn't reach the end of the tunnel, if there was indeed an end to it.

Then, abruptly, his feet struck something solid. He had reached carved stone steps, leading out of the water. He raced up the steps as quickly as his legs would move. It seemed that the water, though nearly freezing, was warmer than the air. Luckily there was no wind, but the frigid air sliced into him as his wet clothes began to freeze. His hands had a bluish tint to the skin, and he fumbled with his wand, dropping it. He stumbled to the ground trying to retrieve it. The light had gone out and the cave was pitch-black. Finally, his numb fingers found the wood of the wand and he grabbed it.

He then realized he couldn't remember the incantation to dry his clothes… he couldn't even remember why he was soaking wet and in a cave… Nothing made sense. His mind was foggy and he wanted more than anything to find a small, comfortable place to curl up and sleep. He wasn't shivering anymore; instead, he was beginning to feel overheated. Shedding his soggy coat, he crawled on into the darkness, skinning the skin of his hands and knees, but not feeling the pain.

He was so tired, but he kept crawling until he came to a wall. He raised his hands to it; the surface was smoother than untouched stone should have been. Suddenly, the wall fell away—disappeared into thin air. Severus stumbled forward, hitting the ground with a thud and scraping his chin. He was too exhausted to get up again. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but all he wanted was to sleep.

Then he remembered something; it came to him from the depths of his fading memory: He had to find the Horcrux and bring it to Lily. It was the only way. As he dragged himself upward, peering into the darkness ahead, he recalled something else. With sluggish, unskilled hands, he pointed his wand at himself.

Muttering the incantation for the hot-air charm took all the strength he could muster, but it instantly dried his clothes. For some reason, he began to shiver again, though his mind was clearing and he felt stronger. Lighting his wand again, he pulled himself to his feet. The sight before his eyes was unsettling.

A great lake spread across the expanse of the cavern. The water was unnaturally still; not the faintest ripple disturbed its surface. It was murky, almost opaque; the light from his wand didn't penetrate as far as it should have. There was a green glow emanating from the center of the lake, on what appeared to be an island. Severus had little doubt that this was where the Horcrux was… but how to get there?

He began skirting the water's edge, walking sideways around the narrow rim on the lake and leaning into the rock cliff. He didn't take his eyes off the water. He wished it would move; just the tiniest ripple would relieve him. It was as if he was engaged in a staring-contest with the lake, which appeared to be winning. The whole situation was rather unnerving.

His progress was slow and painstaking. As he drew nearer, he saw the island was a large, smooth stone, and looked to be perfectly round. The faint glow was in the direct center of the island, and thus the cave. Severus realized he wouldn't be able to get any closer than he already was. The Horcrux was in the exact middle of the cave.

Severus raised his wand and half-heartedly tried something he was sure wouldn't work. "Accio Horcrux." His voice echoed hollowly.

He wasn't surprised when the Horcrux wasn't summoned, but something happened that made him jump back against the wall. Partway between him and the island, something had leapt from the water, blocking his spell. It happened so suddenly that he wasn't able to tell what it was, let alone whether or not it had actually happened in the first place. And the water was so still; only a couple lingering ripples, which were now lapping at the stone rim at his feet, offered any proof. But something had to have caused the disturbance… Shaking it off, he thought for another solution. Of course there would be charms prevented him from Apparating to the island… but there must have been a way to get there.

He remembered what Dumbledore had told him, only the previous day: _It's hard to say whether or not you would make it out alive_. At the time, in the safety of the headmaster's office, it had been easy to conclude that Dumbledore was exaggerating and trying to force Severus into making up with Lily. But now, alone in a dark cave, with lingering symptoms of hypothermia, it was hard to not be concerned about what Dumbledore had said. But surely he knew that Severus was going to attempt it alone… Dumbledore was the type who just knew things like that; he could see the courses of action people were going to take as accurately as the most gifted Seer.

So Severus decided that if Dumbledore did indeed know, he would've put more effort into trying to save Severus's life. At least, Severus hoped he would have. Even if Dumbledore wasn't especially fond of him, he was a valuable spy. With renewed security, Severus turned his mind back to the task at hand.

How to cross the lake and get the Horcrux. To bring it back to Lily. So she would forgive him.

But first things first, he had to cross the lake. He leaned against the cliff and closed his eyes for a brief moment… and reopened them just as quickly. He didn't trust the lake—and whatever was in it—and opted to keep watch. He remembered something Lily had told him when they began the hunt, a piece of wisdom passed on to her from Dumbledore.

Something about magic leaving traces. If you focused enough you could sense the presence of it… Trying to believe this was true, he relaxed his mind. After only a few seconds of not having felt anything, he was discouraged. But he had to keep trying… he had to do this for Lily. If for no other reason, he would do this to redeem himself in her eyes—to never have her look at him in that way again. He would do anything for that—for her.

Severus concentrated his mind again, until no thoughts ran through it. The cave was completely and utterly silent—the type that rang in his ears and made him feel like he was going mad.

Then, with a start, he came to a sudden realization. There was magic. Here. Near to him. He could _feel_ it—sense it.

He moved a cautious hand out into the air, feeling like a lunatic, but there was no one there to see it. Besides whatever was in the lake, though he didn't think they would much care. His hand bumped into something solid, yet completely invisible and the shock of it caused him to bang his elbow on the rock behind him as he jumped back. He found the thing again—it felt like a chain—and gripped onto it. Then he tapped it with his wand and the chain appeared. It was rusty and rough in his hand. Unsurely, he touched the tip of his wand to it again and the chain began to move upwards. He loosened his grip and let it slide through his hands.

Through the murky water, he saw something coming toward him. When it broke the surface, he saw that it was a small boat. It glided across the lake silently. Severus stared down at the tiny boat—it was also green, and seemed to glow—and felt the greatest sense of foreboding. Shaking it off, he carefully climbed into the boat, which didn't rock back and forth with his shifting weight as much as it should have. As soon as he was settled inside, it began to move, skimming across the glassy lake, leaving not the smallest wake behind it. It was hard to tell how fast he was traveling, but before long he couldn't see the shore he had just left from. It was as though he were on the ocean; only the unnerving qualities of the lake reminded him that he was not.

Severus saw something in the depths of the water, close enough that the light of his wand could reach it. His heart felt heavy in his chest, on his lungs, as he realized what was residing in the lake. He couldn't look away from the deadened eyes, staring sightlessly upward, and the pale, rotted flesh.

Inferi. Of course. This was Voldemort's cave, after all. What else was to be expected from him? Severus wrenched his gaze away from the dead man and looked straight ahead. He could see the stone island more clearly as he drew nearer to it. At long last, the boat bumped against the edge of it, and he stepped out, being mindful to not touch the water. The flat island was only inches above the lake, but was completely dry, as though no wave had ever washed over it.

The boat stayed in place as Severus ventured toward the center of the rock, toward the green light, which was glowing brighter. As he approached it, he saw that it was a stone basin of some sort. When he reached it, he saw that it was full of an emerald potion, which was emitting the misty light. In the bottom of the basin, clearly visible through the liquid, was a locket.

Salazar Slytherin's locket… one of the Horcruxes. His heart leaping in excitement, he reached toward the basin. Abruptly, he jammed his fingers on something solid in midair. Confused, he moved his hands around the basin to find that it was surrounded by an impenetrable force-field of sorts. He wouldn't be able to get any closer than he was now. At least not with his hands. He pulled out his wand and tried to Vanish the green potion. He wasn't all too surprised when it didn't work. Taking a step back, he racked his brains for a solution.

It was indeed a potion, though one he had never seen before, with its translucent glow and frighteningly green coloring. But since it was a potion, he could only assume it was meant to be drunk. He shuddered at the thought of it. He didn't even want to know what a potion of Voldemort's own creation would do.

Severus considered turning back. Surely if he were to climb back into the boat, it would bring him to the other side and he would be able to leave without any trouble. This was a tempting option. He was eager to get out of here as soon as possible. He could find Lily and tell her he knew exactly where a Horcrux was and they could get it together. But he didn't want to subject her to this level of danger. So far, everything they had done had been safe. Lily claimed to be prepared to risk her life if it came down to it, but actually facing death was another thing entirely.

So he decided against bringing Lily to this terrible place. He had to do this alone. It would prove his loyalty to Lily and she wouldn't be able to hate him anymore. He would bring back the locket and allow her the honor of destroying it. That was the only way to get back in good graces.

Severus conjured a simple goblet and extended it toward the basin. He was not relieved when he made it past the invisible barrier. The potion was indeed intended to be consumed. He scooped up some of the liquid and brought it to his lips. It had no scent whatsoever. He had no clue as to what it would taste like—no hint as to what it would do to him. In one fluid motion, he tipped the goblet back and the potion drained into his mouth. He swallowed it quickly, and, though it was as cold as the water he had so recently swam through, it burned his throat as it went down.

At first, he felt nothing. The potion was tasteless. Then he started to feel an intense thirst, as though his throat and lungs were on fire. Desperately, he took another goblet of potion and poured it into his mouth. It did nothing to decrease the pain—only made it worse. He was starting to black out and could scarcely see well enough to take another drink. But he managed it. If all Voldemort's potion was going to do was cause him pain, he could handle it.

But Severus soon realized that was not all the potion was intended to do.

It started with screamed words, slammed doors; his father late coming home. The neglect in the earliest years—the resentment that came later, and grew to be mutual. He tried to stop the memories from coming—he knew where they would inevitably lead, and he couldn't bear reliving that—but it was pointless. The darkness of his youth passed quickly now, as if the potion was eager to torture him over things fresher in his mind.

The recent look of loathing in those glorious green eyes… the biting sarcasm, the shouted words, each of them ringing true. The sickening crack of Disapparation—the overwhelming sense that he would never see her again.

Back several years, his memories coming in pieces, jumping around, leading maliciously toward the one that would hurt him the most. He took another gulp of the potion, a fresh dose of poison. He was beginning to hope it would kill him.

Seeing her with him—his worst enemy, the one he could not think of without wanting to punch a hole through a wall. How arrogant, how insufferable… What was wrong with her to see any trace of goodness in him? They were in Hogsmeade, talking, laughing—Severus tried to ignore them. But they kissed. A gut-wrenching sight to endure. Potter had reclined back in his chair after they'd pulled away and glanced over to Severus, his face smug as he wrapped an arm around her. And she hadn't noticed that Severus was even there, for she was so enchanted by James Potter, who she used to rant about to Severus all the time … He was so confused, so lost.

Another mouthful of potion and the worst memory of all was approaching… but another first to make him suffer in his dread: Voldemort deciding that the prophecy meant Harry Potter, not Neville Longbottom. Severus trying to tell him that it was Neville; that there was no way it could mean Harry… The disgusting hunger with which Voldemort discussed killing the Potters… killing Lily. Severus tirelessly, shamelessly begging him to spare her…

And over it all, finally, after much ado, he heard it—heard himself—heard the shouted word that tore everything apart—everything he had strived for—everything he had almost had.

"_Mudblood_!"

Severus couldn't go on as he fell to the foot of the stone basin, which was finally empty for all his efforts. He reached an arm inside and found the locket. He slipped it into his pocket. He had done what he had come here to do. He was nearly unconscious, but he felt a terrible thirst overcoming him. He needed water more than he had ever needed anything.

Crawling to the edge of the island took all the strength he possessed. His head fell into the dank, freezing water and he was nearly too tired to exhausted to take in any water. But he opened his mouth and swallowed a little of it. Some energy came back to him—enough to lift his head and sit back on the stone. When he opened his eyes, he wasn't all too surprised to find dead hands reaching for him out of the water. He stumbled backward, as fast as he was able to move. Hands were grabbing his ankles and pulling very slowly, with grim determination. The smooth surface of the rock island offered no traction. He slid across it back to the water's edge.

He thought he should put the Horcrux on the island so the next person to come wouldn't have to drink the horrible potion. But he was slipping underwater and he was immobilized by the Inferi, as well as fear, fatigue and cold. Just before his head slipped under the surface, teetering on the brink of consciousness, he saw a bright white light across the lake. He thought he heard screaming—a familiar voice. Then there was more light, orange and hot, shooting out toward him, into the water. His captors released him, and he thought he must have died—that would be the only reason they would ever let go. His eyes slid shut and he continued drifting downward in the deep lake.

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><p><strong>AN: … reviews? **


	13. RAB

Blurry faces… a flash of red hair… a rhythmic pounding on his chest… he was rolled over and water poured out of his mouth onto the rocks. He coughed and hacked and heaved for dry air, rejecting the filthy water in his lungs.

Severus heard a sigh of relief, and indistinct mutterings behind him. Somehow, his clothes were dry and he was not cold, but why was he then shivering and throwing up mouthfuls of water? He was in a dark cave… a familiar one… He looked out onto a tunnel that extended further than the light illuminated it.

He turned toward the voices and the source of light, which immediately blinded and dazed him. When his eyes adjusted, he saw Lily and Sirius sitting on the rocks and staring at him warily.

Then Lily spoke. "What the hell is wrong with you, going in there all alone?"

Severus blinked. _Going in where?_

"You are so lucky Dumbledore told us you were going to do this," Sirius added. "We got here just in time, too; you were being dragged underwater. If we were any later coming, you'd be an Inferius by now."

Snippets of recollection were beginning to come to him. He remembered a boat… and green potion… and dead hands snatching at his feet. Then he remembered the reason why he had gone through all this is the first place.

"I got it," he croaked. His throat was hoarse and raw; speaking was painful.

"What'd you say?" Lily asked impatiently.

Severus dug the locket out of his pocket and handed it to her. She accepted it wordlessly and examined it by the light of her wand.

"This is Slytherin's locket?" she asked quietly.

"No," Sirius said abruptly. "It's not. I recognize it."

Severus and Lily stared at him.

"But that doesn't mean it's not—" Lily began.

Sirius shook his head. "No, it's not Slytherin's. It's an old family heirloom."

Lily looked puzzled. "From whose family?"

"Mine," he said in a dull, gruff voice.

Severus's head was pounding. He laid it down in his hand and massaged his aching temples.

"Then, why—?"

"I don't know, Lily. I don't know why it's here, but I doubt it's a Horcrux."

There were a few moments of silence and Severus closed his eyes. He had never been so tired in his life… he had almost died twice, in two different ways, in a very short amount of time. And if Sirius was right, it was all for nothing. Then there was a quiet gasp that caused Severus to open his eyes and lift his head.

Lily had opened the locket and was holding a small, folded piece of paper. "There's a note," she whispered, looking at Sirius with wide eyes.

"Well, read it," he said tiredly.

Her fingers were visibly trembling as she unfolded the note and began to read it aloud. Severus was only able to gather that he had indeed risked his life to obtain a decoy, but Sirius was alert once more, leaning forward, his mouth open slightly.

"Who's it signed?" he asked.

"'R.A.B.,'" Lily read.

Sirius immediately snatched the paper from her and jumped to his feet. He paced back and forth, reading the note over and over. Lily stood up and watched him, her brow furrowed.

"Sirius," she said in a weak, breathy voice. "Do you know who that is?"

He nodded vigorously, still not taking his eyes off the scrap of paper. "R.A.B. I can't believe it…"

"Who's R.A.B.?" Lily asked, snagging his arm as he passed. "Sirius, who is it?"

He looked up at her, his expression bewildered. "My brother."

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><p>Sirius rowed the hastily conjured boat as fast as he could through the tunnel, but the oars kept catching on the sides and the boat kept ramming into the stone walls. Snape lamented that he hadn't thought to conjure a boat when he had come through, but didn't receive any pity. Sirius was far too focused on the note… It had to be Regulus. Regulus Arcturus Black. R.A.B. It fit all too well.<p>

But on the other hand, it didn't make much sense to him. Why would Regulus, a proud Death Eater, die to retrieve one of the Horcruxes? It was wildly out of character. Unless he had seen the error of his ways… but Sirius doubted this. Regulus wasn't one to admit he was wrong.

_Which was probably why he never told anyone of his plan…_

Maybe, just maybe, Sirius thought, his little brother had seen the light. Finally, they reached the end of the tunnel and unloaded from the boat onto the rocks. Sirius led the way up onto the big boulder to which he and Lily had Apparated over an hour ago.

"Hurry," he called into the wind. The sun had just set, but light was still streaking the sky. He wanted to waste no time. Lily was by his side in moments, but Snape was still struggling to climb onto the rock. No one offered to help.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked breathlessly.

Sirius grimaced. "To my parent's house."

"Oh," she said, clearly pretending to understand. Then she appeared to give up. "Why?"

"It's the only place I can think of going. There's someone there who might know what happened… We need to find out whether or not Regulus was actually successful in destroying the Horcrux."

Lily frowned. "If he went alone… he would've got pulled into that lake and drowned. So the Horcrux would be in the lake…"

Sirius nodded. "He must be an Inferius now. But let's hope that it doesn't come down to scuba-diving in that horrible lake in order to get it back. Regulus wasn't stupid, believe it or not. I think he knew he was going to die, so he must've made arrangements for the Horcrux."

Lily put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sirius," she said.

He looked to her in confusion. "For what?"

"It must be hard to find out this way. About what happened to your brother."

He shrugged, and her hand fell away from his arm. "It's fine. At least I don't have to be ashamed of him anymore."

Finally, Snape reached them, panting heavily and looking deathly pale.

"All ready?" Sirius said briskly, taking hold of Lily's arm and roughly snatching one of Snape's. He Apparated the three of them to a place he hadn't been in years, and had hoped he would never have to see again. They now stood on the doorstep of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

He took a deep breath. "So, here's the thing. My father died some time ago, but my mother, unfortunately, is still alive. And I can guarantee you; she won't be pleased to see me. In fact, she may just try to kill me. So, be prepared for the worst."

"Would it help if Snape showed her his Mark?" Lily suggested. Sirius reveled in how she spoke about Snape as if he weren't even there.

"Hard to say… The most important thing is that I disarm her before she realizes it's me. Even if she did think I was hanging around with Death Eaters, she still wouldn't take well to seeing me."

"So, should I flash the Mark or not?" Snape asked dryly.

Sirius decided that he didn't want Snape to get any ideas that he was important in the least. "No. We can handle this without your help," he said. "I can't believe she didn't hear us Apparating, she must be a deaf old hag—probably blasted her eardrums from screaming all the time."

Sirius turned to the old, ornate door. He knocked on it firmly, and then stepped back, drawing his wand. As soon as it opened, he had to be ready. He heard movement inside. She was looking through the peephole; seeing the face of her eldest son. The lock clicked. Sirius moved in front of Lily. The door opened a crack, but there was no one there.

"Master Sirius," said a familiar voice. Sirius looked down toward the sound: Kreacher, the family house-elf, was standing in the open door, bowing low to the ground, dressed in his usual skimpy rags. He was currently muttering a string of foul insults under his breath. Sirius picked out the words "blood-traitor filth" at least a few times.

"Kreacher," said Sirius in annoyance. "Where's my mother?"

"Mistress is ill and in bed at the moment," the elf answered.

"Take me to her," he ordered.

Kreacher looked troubled. "Mistress doesn't want any visitors. Kreacher is to send them away."

Sirius sighed. "I am your master, and you will take me to her. Now."

The elf, having received conflicting orders, wrung his bony hands. Sirius shoved his way inside and gestured for Lily and Snape to follow behind.

"Master Sirius!" Kreacher protested.

"_Silencio_," Sirius growled, and the elf no longer made a sound, though he pulled at Sirius's robes, trying to stop him.

Sirius had forgotten how very depressing Number Twelve was. The floor was coated in dust, everything was gray—the walls, the furniture, the rugs, the air itself—and there were horrible things strewn about, his mother's idea of decorations. Worst of these was the plaque, upon which stuffed heads of former house-elves were mounted. He shuddered and swatted away the spindly fingers of Kreacher, who was still trying to stop him.

He climbed the stairs with Lily and Snape close behind him. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet.

"Kreacher?"

His mother's voice. As shrill as always, but more tired than he had ever heard it. He took a deep breath and motioned for Lily and Snape to stay in the corridor.

"Expelliarmus!" he shouted as he lunged into the room. Nothing happened. He saw the old four-poster bed and his mother was lying in it, her head propped up on pillows. She looked quite startled but then it faded to amusement.

"I don't have my wand on me, Sirius," she said calmly. She nodded her head toward the bedside table, where it lay.

He was taken aback by her reaction. She hadn't tried to kill him and she wasn't even yelling at him now, like he thought she would've.

"Nice of you to come see me on my deathbed," his mother continued. "But when the first thing you do is try to disarm me, well…" She clucked her tongue in disapproval and then her face hardened quite suddenly. She made a wild grab for her wand but knocked it to the floor in her elderly discoordination. Sirius quickly retrieved it while she snatched at him with frail hands and snarled the usual insults.

He chuckled and put on an expression of feigned concern. "Mother, Mother, you'll hurt yourself…"

"I'll hurt _you_," she hissed.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Really now? How do you plan on doing that?" He twirled both their wands in one hand, just out of her reach. Her eyes narrowed to slits.

"Did you come to smother me in my sleep and steal my money?"

He laughed hollowly. "No, but I'll consider it. I could use the cash."

A floorboard creaked just beyond the door and there was the sound of murmuring. His mother tensed, her face going even paler. "Who did you bring with you?" Then her lips curled viciously. "Do I smell a Mudblood?"

Sirius heard Lily's tiny gasp. He sighed and called over his shoulder, "She can't actually smell your blood, she's not a shark."

His mother's nostrils flared. "It's not the blood; it's the filth I smell. Get that scum out of my house!"

And there she was—the shrieking banshee of a mother he remembered from his youth. "Not until we're done here. Then we'll leave you to your misery and you can die alone."

"It's all I ask," she sneered.

Ignoring her further abuse, he backed out of the room and shut the door firmly. The scrawny old house elf was now directly behind him, still bound by the silencing charm. Sirius hastily removed it, and dragged Kreacher down the stairs by his large ears. He sat him down on the table and was soon joined by Lily and Snape, both seeming nervous and on-edge.

Sirius took out the note from the cave, from his brother, and spread it out on the table. "Kreacher," he began, in an urgent tone of voice. "What do you know about Horcruxes?"

The elf shook his wrinkled head. "Kreacher doesn't know what that is."

He sighed impatiently. "Do you know how Regulus died?"

Kreacher's eyes widened and gleamed with tears. He nodded. "Master Regulus says Kreacher isn't supposed to tell anyone…"

"Master Regulus is dead," Sirius said harshly and the elf let out a stifled wail. "I am your Master and I command you to tell me everything that you know."

The elf gulped and gripped the edges of the table with his bony fingers. In short bursts of speech, punctuated by sobs and attempts to punish himself, Kreacher told of the cave, and the first time he had gone there with Voldemort in order to test its defenses. The next time he had gone to the cave was with Regulus, who had indeed had a change of heart and sacrificed himself to retrieve the Horcrux.

Sirius clung to every word, encouraging Kreacher to continue every now and then. By the end of the tale, the house was quiet. His mother had stopped screaming upstairs and everyone was too awed to speak for a couple moments. Lily dabbed at her eyes, apparently moved by the story. Sirius was still feeling rather shell-shocked.

But he recovered from it quickly and turned his mind back to the task at hand. "Do you know where the locket is?"

Kreacher nodded. They waited but received no answer beyond that.

"Well, where is it?"

The elf furrowed his brow. "It's in the cave. Kreacher put it there because Master Regulus told him—"

"No, not that locket. The one you took from the cave. The one he told you to destroy. Where is it?"

Hesitantly, Kreacher pulled the very locket from his scanty clothing. Sirius grabbed at it excitedly. "This is it," he breathed.

Lily was leaning over his shoulder, utterly captivated. Then she snatched it from his fingers and put it on the table. She wasted no time in conjuring some Fiendfyre, but it appeared to have no effect whatsoever on the locket.

"It's not working," Snape said.

"I can see that!" Lily snapped. After a moment she added fretfully, "Why isn't it working?"

"I think the locket has to be opened first," Sirius suggested. Lily's Fiendfyre burned out and she seized the locket—her breath hitched in pain as she dropped the scorching hot locket back to the table. After several moments she picked it up again and pried at its latch.

"It won't open!"

They passed it around, each having a try, but none could open it. Finally, when their fingers had started to bleed from the effort, they gave up. Sirius was eager to leave Grimmauld Place, but there was one more thing he had to do. Without making an excuse for himself, he climbed the stairs again and walked down the hall, the opposite direction from his own old bedroom. He saw the plaque on the door, bearing his brother's full name, and he tried the doorknob. The door was locked.

"_Alohomora_," he muttered and the door opened slowly inward. He stepped inside. The room was musty and it felt as though he were in a sepia photograph as everything was faded. But he remembered how bold the emerald and silver had once been—how fresh and crisp the newspaper clippings had been. He read their headlines again, shaking his head scornfully.

Finally, he sank down on the bed—a cloud of dust arose around him—and looked at the picture of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He scanned the serious, smile-less faces until he found his brother. He was scowling just like his teammates, probably trying to look intimidating. Sirius and Regulus looked alike. People had always said it—both had denied it every time without fail—but now Sirius admitted to himself that it was true.

And, for the first time, he thought that he and Regulus may have been more alike than in just looks.

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><p><strong>AN: Because we all wanted Sirius to know how his brother had actually died. Rate and Review please!**


	14. Parseltongue

Severus had never thought he would want Sirius to be around. But now that was exactly what he wanted. Lily hadn't so much as looked at him ever since Sirius had gone upstairs. And he had been gone for quite some time. Lily was examining the locket and kept trying things to open it, then hissed in pain when she chipped her nail.

"Can I try?" he asked timidly.

Lily glanced at him and her eyes narrowed. Then she turned back to the locket and continued her fruitless efforts. Severus sighed. Where was Sirius? What was taking him so long? Perhaps, Severus thought, he could take advantage of the situation to try and make things right again.

"Lily," he said heavily, "I'm really sorry."

She bit her lip, but otherwise had no reaction. It was as thought she hadn't heard him at all. He decided to give up for the time being and focused on the locket. It was definitely a Horcrux. But how to open it? Who might know how to open it?

A few minutes later, Severus hadn't had any breakthroughs and Sirius had come down from upstairs. His eyes were reddened and stared tiredly ahead. Severus felt mildly uncomfortable as he realized that Sirius had been crying. Lily jumped up and gathered his into an embrace, which he at first tried to reject and then surrendered to completely. Severus twiddled his thumbs awkwardly as Lily murmured comforting words. Finally, they pulled apart. Lily put a comforting hand on Sirius's shoulder as he roughly rubbed at his eyes.

"Let's get out of here," he said gruffly, nodding his head toward the door. He then tossed his mother's wand back to Kreacher. "Give this back to her once we leave."

The elf bowed low and stalked out of the room, muttering angrily to himself.

"Any ideas on the locket?" Sirius asked.

Lily frowned and shrugged, but Severus had suddenly thought of something—of someone who would know how to open it.

"I know where we have to go," he said, and Lily and Sirius whipped their heads around to stare at him.

"Really?" Sirius said skeptically.

"Yes," he insisted. "Just trust me on this."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he wished he could take them back. Lily's eyes became vicious slits and Sirius stiffened dangerously. Severus braced himself.

"_Trust_ you?" Sirius cried. "Why the hell would we trust _you_ at this point?"

"Please," he begged. "You want to destroy the Horcrux? This is the only way."

Lily groaned, obviously not pleased that Severus held the key to killing Voldemort. "Well?"

"We have to talk to the owner of the locket," Severus said slowly.

"You mean Voldemort?" Sirius let out a bark of cold laughter. "Yes, how about you go up to him and ask him to open it for you? It's a great plan. What could possibly go wrong?"

"No, not him," Severus said impatiently. "Salazar Slytherin."

"He's dead," Lily said bluntly.

"I know he is. But that doesn't mean he can't help us with this."

Lily and Sirius exchanged a glance, and finally their curiosity conquered their pride.

"So, what's the plan?"

* * *

><p>They were able to get inside without running into anyone and therefore hadn't had to explain themselves yet. Lily was still unsure about this, but it was the only hope at this point. She didn't have a choice.<p>

The three of them went into the common room on the heels of a couple third-years. Lily had never been there before, but she wasn't surprised at the furnishing of the Slytherin common room. It was dark with green accents here and there. The students in the room looked up at Lily, Severus and Sirius in surprise.

Severus cleared his throat. "Please evacuate the common room. Now."

There was a moment of quiet and then the whispering recommenced. Suddenly, there was a sound as loud as a gunshot. Lily reeled around to see Sirius with his wand drawn.

"Get out of here," he ordered. "Right now."

Without the slightest hesitation, the Slytherins scrambled out of the common room.

"And stay out," Sirius added as the door closed behind the last of them. Then he turned to Severus. "Okay, where's this portrait?"

Severus gestured toward an empty picture-frame on one wall of the room. The three gathered around it.

"He's not here," Lily stated, looking over at Severus. "Is this even a portrait of Slytherin?"

"Yes, of course it is," he said quickly. "He rarely shows up here. But I've seen him at least twice." He stepped up to the painting. "Slytherin, Your Greatness—"

Sirius snorted indignantly.

"—will you do us the honor of visiting Hogwarts and appearing to us?"

"What the hell kind of Death Eater crap was that?" Sirius asked, nearly snarling.

"It's the only way," Severus explained. Barely a moment later, a regal-looking man with long, dark hair and beard assumed his position in the center of the portrait.

"You called?" he said, looking rather bored.

"Yes," Lily said, stepping in front of Severus. "We have a question for you."

Sytherin sighed and waved his hand. "Very well, then. Go on."

Lily pulled the locket out of her pocket and was cut off before she could get a single word out.

"Where did you find that?" he demanded.

"That's irrelevant," she said firmly. "We need to know how to open it."

Slytherin raised his eyebrows and remained silent.

Lily groaned quietly. "It's really important."

"Too important to tell me, the locket's original owner?"

She exchanged a glance with Sirius. He looked at her and gave a meaningful nod toward Severus. She caught on to his silent message and grabbed Severus's arm. He yanked it away, startled.

"Show him," Lily hissed.

Severus hesitated and then slowly rolled up his left sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark. Then he raised his forearm and presented it to Slytherin, who looked on appraisingly.

"Well, well," he said. "A Death Eater. Is this supposed to impress me or scare me into compliance?"

Lily was taken aback. "I thought you—"

"You thought I'd be proud of my last living descent and his work. I can see why you would assume that."

"…Aren't you?"

Slytherin appeared to give it some thought. "I support his ideals, perhaps, but not his methods. My house already has a bad enough reputation."

Lily felt defeated for a moment, but then she had a sudden idea.

"He's not actually a Death Eater, though. Not anymore. And we're not doing anything to help Voldemort—"

Slytherin's eyes widened when she said the name.

"—in fact, we're trying to… to kill him."

Sirius threw his hands up in clear frustration and disbelief. "Go and tell him everything, why don't you…"

Slytherin looked around at the three of them, with unreadable, dark eyes. Finally, he spoke. "'Open' in Parseltongue."

Lily's eyebrows shot up. "Really? That's how to open it?"

Slytherin stared back at her for such a long time that it seemed he was a normal Muggle painting. Then he nodded once, barely noticeably.

"Could you… could you do it for us?" Sirius asked hopefully.

Slytherin smirked and slowly shook his head back and forth.

Lily crossed her arms impatiently. "Why not?"

He smirked still more aggravatingly and waved them off with one pompous flick of his hand. Sirius muttered something incredibly rude as the three of them turned away, but Slytherin didn't seem to hear it. They were at the exit of the common room when Slytherin spoke again.

"Merely out of curiosity," he called, causing them to turn around to face him again, "are you all Gryffindors?"

"Does it matter?" Lily snapped.

"Lousy bigot," Sirius muttered, turning away again.

"I was in Slytherin," Severus said quietly, earning a fierce glare from both his companions, but an approving nod from Slytherin himself. Sirius grabbed his arm, making him wince in apparent pain, and dragged him toward the exit. The two of them went out of the common room first, and Lily was about to leave herself when the voice from the portrait stopped her.

"You're a Gryffindor, aren't you?"

She turned around and met eyes with Slytherin. He looked so smug that a little bit of anger erupted in the pit of her stomach.

"I was a Gryffindor, yes," she answered.

"I knew it," he said in a tone of pure self-assuredness. Lily shook her head and began to climb through the passage.

"Wait," she called out, turning for the last time. "What do you mean you knew—?"

The portrait was empty. She frowned and left the common room, entering a mob of Slytherins just outside in the corridors. She spotted Sirius and Severus across the hall and she made her way to them, fighting against the traffic flow. The students grumbled in annoyance as they returned to their common room.

Lily, Sirius and Severus now turned their efforts into getting out of the castle without any trouble. But they'd only just made it out of the dungeons, when a Slytherin prefect came around the corner, Dumbledore just behind him. The headmaster paused at the sight of them and shook his head.

"I should've known it would be you three. Any particular reason why you kicked all the Slytherins out of their common room?" he asked.

The prefect crossed his arms expectantly and tapped his foot. Lily almost laughed at the sight. "We had to talk to someone."

Dumbledore looked confused and dismissed the prefect who reluctantly left. "To whom and what about?"

"The portrait of Slytherin about how to open the locket."

"Ah, clever…" he praised. "And did he cooperate?"

"Eventually. Do you perchance know anyone who can speak Parseltongue?"

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Only Voldemort."

"We'll figure something out," Sirius said confidently.

"Good to see you all together," Dumbledore noted, and then nodded to Severus. "And alive, I might add."

Severus smiled apologetically and looked down at the stone floor. "Thanks for that," he mumbled.

"I'm not the one who rescued you from the cave and what horrors I imagine lie within," he said dismissively. "And one more thing before you're on your way…" He pulled a note from the folds of his robes. "Apparently, Remus has been trying to contact you for a week or two, and he seems a little concerned with your sudden disappearance."

Sirius took the note and read it over, wincing periodically. "Seems more than a little concerned. Seems to think we've been killed!"

Lily bit her lip guiltily. "Tell him to come to Hogsmeade. Maybe he'll be interested in helping."

Dumbledore nodded, his eyes twinkling. "Will you be staying there for a while?"

"I think so," she replied, glancing around to the others who voiced no complaints. They left the castle and walked down to Hogsmeade. At the Three Broomsticks, they each got a room and then went down into the bar for a round of Butterbeers.

"Any ideas?" Lily asked, pulling out the locket and laying it on the table.

"I do have one…" Sirius said hesitantly, glancing around at the few people in the pub.

Lily urged him on his eager green eyes. He leaned in closer over the table and she followed his lead. Severus also leaned in a bit, but neither of them made room to accommodate him so he sat back in his chair, left out.

"Well, I was thinking," Sirius began in a conspiratorially low voice, "we can't very well find a _person_ who speaks Parseltongue to open the locket for us, right?"

Lily frowned in disappointment. "Yeah, that's the problem."

"But we don't have to use a _person_…" He seemed to want her to guess his plan, but she was short on patience.

"Just cut to the chase."

He opened his mouth, about to launch into his explanation, when Severus gasped suddenly. The two of them whipped their heads around to stare at him. His eyes were wide and his face pale and he was clutching his left arm… It was all too familiar to Lily.

"Don't react to it!" she hissed. "There're other people here!"

The others in question were giving them suspicious glances. Severus nodded, a strained expression on his face.

"I have to go," he whispered, an unmistakable look of fear in his eyes.

"Wait, wait," Sirius said loudly. "What is going on here? Is his…" he lowered his voice again, "…his Mark burning?"

Lily nodded, imploring him with her eyes to stop talking.

"But he said he had to go. Why does he have to go?"

"Sirius, be quiet!"

"I'm a spy for the Order," Severus said tiredly, standing up from the table. "I really have to go. Right now. See you." He hurried out of the Three Broomsticks. Sirius looked back to Lily, with an incredulous expression on his face. Then he slammed a couple Galleons on the table and yanked Lily out of the pub.

"You knew this?" he asked, still pulling her by the wrist down the street and garnering quite a few looks from passersby. She eventually twisted free.

"Will you ever be able to control yourself?" she asked, rubbing her wrist.

"Probably not," he said quickly. "But that's not the point! The point is, why didn't you tell me?"

"It never came up," she said defensively.

"You didn't consider it important enough to mention?" He was advancing toward her again, but she held her ground, too accustomed to Sirius to let him intimidate her.

"You don't have to be so dramatic about it."

He threw his hands up in the air and Lily wished he could see himself. It would really prove a point. "Dramatic? Well, excuse me if I'm being _dramatic_! But I don't think you realize that as we speak Snivelly is off telling Voldemort everything we've been doing for the past month."

Lily rolled her eyes. "The last time he went he came back with a Horcrux. The diary."

"It must've been a decoy!"

"You were there when we destroyed it! It was a real Horcrux!"

"How can you be so sure it was Voldemort's?"

"Whose else would it be?" she cried in exasperation.

"I just don't think we should trust him so easily. He betrayed you once already, who's to say he's incapable of doing it again?"

"Dumbledore trusts him." A weak response, but all she could manage.

"Well, good for him, but I don't."

Lily sighed. "I know what he did, okay? But he's valuable. If he comes back from every one of these little meetings with a Horcrux, Voldemort will be dead before we know it."

"We're only keeping him around because he's valuable, right?" Sirius asked, seeming as though he'd be alright with that.

"I do hope you're not talking about me…" said a familiar voice coming from the mouth of the alleyway. Lily hadn't even noticed that one of the passersby had stopped there for their last couple exchanges.

"Remus," Sirius laughed, pulling his friend into a brotherly hug. "Long time, no see."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "I've been trying to contact you," he said, taking a few steps past him to hug Lily, "so you're not going to put this one on me."

"Fair enough," Lily said. "Sorry for falling off the face of the earth like that."

"No kidding. What _have_ you two been up to? I heard a mention of Voldemort and I could've sworn you said something about a Horcrux…"

Lily exchanged a glance with Sirius. "Well," she began, "it's a fairly long story."

"The Three Broomsticks?" Remus suggested, nodding toward the pub.

Sirius chuckled. "I think this occasion calls for the Hog's Head…"

* * *

><p>A couple hours and at least four rounds of firewhiskey later, the story had been sufficiently told, with Lily and Sirius taking turns. Remus was understandably overwhelmed and Lily's own head felt cloudy. But that may have been from the alcohol. The bartender, Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother and fellow Order member, was the only other person in the pub and pretended to not be listening.<p>

But when Lily took out Slytherin's locket, Aberforth stopped cleaning and hovered only a couple feet away from their booth. "This is the latest Horcrux," she said softly. She glanced at Aberforth, who looked away and resuming 'cleaning.' Smiling, she continued. "The third one we've found."

"And there are six?" Remus inquired.

"There are six," Sirius answered. "Half of them have been found, and two of those already destroyed."

"So this one is… still alive?"

"Alive? That's an interesting way to put it, Moony," Sirius said.

Remus flushed. "Well, you call it 'killing,' so I don't know…"

"But to answer your question," Lily cut in, "yes, it's still alive."

The three of them looked down at the locket on the table. The air was suddenly cold, as if there was a draft.

"Why haven't you killed it yet?" Remus asked, finally breaking the silence.

"We were getting around to it," Sirius replied, "but there was a slight complication. It has to be opened first and to do so, we need a Parselmouth."

"Hmm," Remus said, leaning back in the booth. "Wish I could be of more help."

"It's quite alright because, as I was telling Lily a couple hours ago, I've figured it out."

Lily started. She'd completely forgotten.

Sirius, grinning, looked over at Aberforth. "Want to see a little show, mate?"

Aberforth looked skeptical, but then nodded. Sirius promptly conjured a snake that fell to the dirty flow of the pub. Lily pulled her feet up onto the chair and watched warily.

"_Imperio_," Sirius said. The snake went rigid and then slithered up onto the table. It hissed, its tongue flicking and its eyes fixed on the locket. Abruptly, the pendant sprung open. Lily jumped and Sirius vanished the snake.

"Will you do the honors, Moony?" he invited.

Remus looked flustered, but he took out his wand. He was about to conjure the Fiendfyre, when the room went dark; the candles had gone out. Lily tensed up and saw her friends stiffen as well. A mass of dark smoke began to rise from the opened locket, swirling and spiraling upward to the ceiling.

"Do it!" Sirius yelled. "Fiendfyre! Now!" There was an edge of panic to his voice. Remus was staring at the smoke, wide-eyed and rendered incapable. The smoke was beginning to form into a horrifyingly familiar face—the one whom they were seeking to kill—when a burst of orange flames shot from Sirius's wand, engulfing the locket. The smoke dissipated, and the room lightened once more. The locket lay on the table now with a large crater in its surface. It was dead.

"Three down, three to go," Sirius breathed. "You can get the next one, Moony."

Remus seemed unable to move, his wand still clutched in his hand.

Lily frowned. "You said I could get the next one."

Sirius's eyes darkened. "Oh. Right. Sorry."

Lily muttered something to the effect of "it's okay," and picked up the killed Horcrux. She slipped it into her pocket. Aberforth was staring at them with wide, blue eyes. He was so still that she temporarily wondered if he had had a stroke. But then he blinked, but a hand to his heart briefly and turned away, shaking his head. She then turned to Remus who looked just as shell-shocked.

"Welcome to the hunt, Remus."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: A lot of you have been wondering about Remus, so here's your answer! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the part with Slytherin's portrait because I'm not exactly sure what I was going for with that and want to know how it came across. Thanks for reading! **


	15. Bellatrix Brags

"As you all know," Voldemort began, looking around at his assembled Death Eaters, "the Ministry has been successfully infiltrated and a puppet Minister is now pulling the strings. We're officially running the country."

Severus surveyed the impassive faces surrounding him. All of them meticulously avoided eye-contact. Except for Bellatrix who, as always, was watching her Master raptly, hanging onto his every word. She was the epitome of devotion.

"So, there's really only one order of business left," Voldemort continued. "And that's Hogwarts."

At the mention of the school, all the eyes in the room fell upon Severus. Naturally. Any time the school came up, they turned to him, their spy. He was probably meant to feel honored. But, as the Dark Lord and his followers stared at him, he felt anxious and threatened. In preparation, he carefully sealed off his mind.

"I hear you're not teaching anymore," Voldemort said in a dangerously silky voice.

Severus didn't allow himself to panic. He could get himself out of anything. As long as he was able to trick himself into believing that… Calmly, he answered. "I'm still employed. It's more of a paid vacation."

"Well, how… nice. How have you been spending this… vacation?"

_Not hunting down and destroying your Horcruxes_, Severus thought and then quickly shoved the thought from his mind. "Well, let's see," he said, as if trying to remember something trivial. "I went to a couple Quidditch matches."

Voldemort smiled and, though it was as terrible to behold as usual, it wasn't especially cruel. Severus knew he had gotten away with it. Easier than he thought it would've been.

"And the purpose of this vacation?"

Severus smiled. He had seen that question coming and an answer bubbled to the front of his mind without much difficulty. "Well, I asked for one. I've got old Dumbledore wrapped around my finger."

The dark-clothed mass of Death Eaters around his laughed darkly—Voldemort's own laugh rose above the din, icier than the rest and higher-pitched.

"I'm glad you've been enjoying yourself, Severus," the Dark Lord drawled, "but your holiday is over. You are instrumental in my scheme, of course… being so close to Dumbledore… and privy to the workings of the school…" Voldemort paused and his face twisted into a smile again—this one could only be accurately defined as cruel and sadistic. "But actually, let's save that for when the time is right. For now… Lucius," he barked suddenly. The man in question straightened up, at attention. "Remember what I gave to you several months ago? Bring it here."

Lucius nodded and hurriedly left the room to fulfill his orders. Voldemort sat down and began to make what sounded suspiciously like small-talk with a Death Eater to his right. Severus shook his head. Voldemort never ceased to surprise him. He looked across the table to see that Bellatrix was glaring rather avidly at him. Severus smiled pleasantly at her as he always did. She narrowed her eyes to dark slits.

"You think you're so important…" she murmured.

Severus raised his eyebrows in amusement. "I was under the impression I _was_ important."

She leaned forward a little, her long hair falling over the narrow table. He was looking forward to what she was going to say when they were interrupted.

"Where _is_ Lucius?" Voldemort wondered aloud. "Severus, go fetch him for me."

"We can continue this conversation later?" he said to Bellatrix, standing up. She glowered at him in response. He left the table. Once out of the meeting hall, he realized he didn't know where Lucius was. He began to wander down one corridor, calling out for him. After a while he stopped, sure that he had gotten lost and considered retracing his steps.

"Severus?" came a voice from behind him. He turned around to see Lucius Malfoy, looking quite distraught.

"Lucius, what are you doing? The Dark—"

"Severus, you've got to help me!" He went back into a room and Severus followed, a sinking feeling in his core.

It was the same room in which he had found the diary not so long ago. He looked around nervously. All the drawers had been pulled out; papers were scattered everywhere; things were strewn all over the floor. The room was the general appearance of having been ransacked by a gang of goblins. But there were no goblins, just an obviously stressed man.

"I can't find it!" Lucius was pacing back and forth, intermittently pulling at his hair and wringing his hands.

"Find what?" Severus asked, although he was sure he knew the answer.

"It's a little book… with a leather cover…" He rummaged through a desk-drawer again. "Don't just stand there; help me look for it!"

Severus hesitated and began looking, slowly going through piles and piles of suspicious books, all on the common topic of Dark Magic. If he could find something that looked similar… He could at least fool Lucius and get out of this situation. "Why is this diary so important?" he asked in a strained voice.

Lucius stopped his searching and the room was deathly quiet. "How did you know it was a diary? I just said it was a book, I never said anything about a diary…"

Severus's heart was beginning to thud in his chest. "Oh, uh, the Dark Lord told me… about it…"

They stared at each other for a long moment until Lucius finally returned to the desk drawer. "He tells you everything, now doesn't he?" His tone was bitter—it seemed like the kind of comment that Severus wasn't meant to overhear.

So he chose to not respond to it. What could he say? _Sorry that he likes me best?_ But the blond man was growing more and more frantic with each passing second so he couldn't have cared about Voldemort playing favorites at this point.

Lucius paused for a moment, a look of horror creeping over his pale face. "If I don't find it…" A visible shudder passed through him and he continued the fruitless search with renewed desperation.

"Where did you last see it?" Severus asked, his stomach feeling as though it were made of lead.

"Right here! On this very desk! I don't know where it possibly could've gone… Narcissa never comes in here, I don't even think she knows about this room, and Draco has only just started walking and he'd never make it this far…" Lucius opened the same drawer for the third time. "Dobby!" he cried out suddenly.

Almost immediately, a house elf Apparated into the room with a loud _pop_. "Yes, Master?" He bowed low only to be grabbed by the back of his neck and lifted off the floor.

"What did you do with it?" Lucius growled, violently shaking the elf.

"With what, Master?" Dobby squeaked, prying at the fingers enclosing around his throat.

"With the diary! The book! Where is it? I know you took it, you—"

"Lucius!" Severus cut in. "The elf didn't take it. Put him down."

Dobby was released and hit the ground with a thud. Lucius then ordered him to search the mansion for the diary. Severus could only imagine how long that would take… Especially considering the object of the search was nowhere near the house. But he elf didn't know this and eagerly Disapparated, probably just glad to escape his master's abuse.

Severus gulped and faced Lucius who looked slightly nauseous. "What do I tell him?" he whispered, a plea in his gray eyes.

It was too much for Severus; he diverted his gaze. He made no suggestions, but finally apologized quietly—a barely audible whisper.

Lucius furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why are you apologizing?"

The question went ignored; only answered in Severus's mind: _Because what's about to happen to you is my fault. _But the stakes were higher now—he couldn't risk everything to protect the likes of Lucius Malfoy. So Severus put on a face as unreadable as his fortressed thoughts. "Ready to go? No use in stalling…"

The man's face went as pale as his hair.

"It will only further anger him," Severus added.

"But… but the book… it could still turn up… Dobby could… find it."

"He won't," Severus mumbled.

"How could this have happened?" Lucius said miserably. "It doesn't make any sense…"

Severus quickly agreed with him and, without much further ado, the two of them left the room and returned to the other Death Eaters and, of course, Voldemort. He stood up and looked expectantly to Lucius. "Well?"

Lucius was trembling so violently that Severus was sure he was going to collapse. He didn't, though—not until he had admitted that the diary was missing and was promptly struck down with a Cruciatus Curse. The large, lofty expanse of the meeting room was filled with his tortured cries. Severus stood beside his writhing body, wearing his best poker face, perfected from years of practice. The only reaction he showed was the slight twitching of his hand with every especially loud scream. Finally it was over and the only sound was the soft whimpering of Narcissa.

"What do you mean," Voldemort said in a venomously smooth voice, "you _can't find it_?"

Lucius gasped for air as he pulled himself up off the ground. "I've only… misplaced it… it'll… turn up… soon."

"Did you not fully understand the importance of what I entrusted to you?" Voldemort had slowly crossed the room until he stood towering over the crumpled form on the floor.

Lucius gave some blubbering, incoherent response. Voldemort looked around the room, to the rest of his Death Eaters. "Unfortunately, the plan has been compromised by the ineptitude of one of our numbers. That's all for today, I believe. I need some time alone to… _talk_ with Lucius."

The blood drained from the man's face once again. With little hesitation, all but the two Malfoys and Voldemort filed out of the room. Severus found himself beside Bellatrix who hardly seemed concerned with her brother-in-law's plight.

"I daresay the Dark Lord must be more careful about whom he trusts," Bellatrix said to no one in particular, though Severus knew it was directed to him. "I hope this incident convinces him to place the rest of his valuables in the care of Rodolphus and I, as we haven't let him down yet. He knows, too, that we have the most secure place to keep anything that needs protection."

Severus glanced over to her. "What kind of things does he need to hide?"

"Not _hide_, protect!" After a flash of anger, she snorted and a smug ghost of a smile returned to her face. "And you think I would tell you? If he doesn't trust you enough to tell you, why should I?"

They had just reached the perimeter of Malfoy Manor, and Bellatrix Disapparated first, followed by the rest of the Death Eaters, one by one, in quick succession and a series of loud _cracks_. Severus was the last to leave, so he heard the beginnings of Lucius Malfoy's screams drifting through an open window. He shuddered and Disapparated too, trying to push the sound from his mind and to fight off the familiar guilt that was one again settling heavily in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to the hunt, Remus," Lily said. Remus smiled nervously and was finally able to lower his wand, the shock having worn off.<p>

"Hey, can we get another round of firewhiskey over here?" Sirius called to Aberforth, who nodded and quickly brought them three more full glasses of the stuff. The bartender's hands were trembling slightly as he set them down on the table. Evidently, he was still shaken from the appearance of Voldemort—or, at least, a fragment of his soul—in his own pub. But this was understandable.

"So, where's Snape now?" Remus asked after they had all but chugged their drinks. The burning in Lily's throat was starting to subside, replaced by a marvelous numbing sensation… just what she needed. The world became less real and more bearable.

"Off selling us out to Voldemort, probably," Sirius grumbled.

Remus nearly choked on his drink and sputtered, "What?"

Lily sighed impatiently and cut off any further explanation that was sure to be greatly biased. "Sirius, he is _not_—"

Just then, the door to the Hog's Head swung open, bringing with it a gust of freezing air and a few snow flurries. Lily shivered and took a small sip of her firewhiskey, which warmed her up greatly and calmed her nerves a little. When she saw who it was at the door, she was glad she had.

"Oh, there you are," said Severus, closing the door behind him. "I was looking for you."

"Speak of the devil," Sirius muttered.

Severus scowled and seemed about to respond when he apparently noticed the third person at the table. "Lupin?" He pulled up a chair and sat down at their table, in between Lily and Remus.

"Severus," Remus said pleasantly. "Care for a drink?"

The newest addition to their table accepted a glass from Aberforth and waited until the bartender had gone. Then he said, in a low voice, "Bellatrix Lestrange has a Horcrux in her possession."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Dun, dun, dun… Thanks for reading! Any comments, questions, predictions…? Please leave them!**


	16. Lestrange Manor

"Bellatrix?" Sirius said doubtfully. "What, did she just walk up to you and say, 'Hey, I have one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, do you want it?'"

Severus frowned. "Well, no, but—"

"Then how do you know she has one?" Lily asked impatiently, tapping her fingernails on the table. Why couldn't he have just brought back a Horcrux instead of what was sure to be a false lead?

"Just let him explain," Remus said, holding up a hand to Sirius, who then leaned back in his seat, narrowing his eyes.

Severus looked taken aback for a moment. "Uh, thanks… Remus."

Remus nodded for him to continue.

"Well, she was bragging about how much the Dark Lord trusts—"

"Voldemort!" Sirius snapped, slamming a fist down on the table. "Call him Voldemort!"

The silence in the pub was thick as Sirius and Severus engaged in a stare-down. Remus, not yet accustomed to the high levels of tension, fidgeted in his seat and coughed awkwardly.

Lily sighed impatiently. "Just relax, Sirius." She glanced to Severus briefly. "Well, go on."

He let out his breath and restarted. "She only said that—that Voldemort has trusted something important to her."

"Well, that doesn't mean anything," Sirius scoffed. "She never said it was a Horcrux?"

"No, but I doubt that the—" Severus gulped, "—that Voldemort would tell anyone about his Horcruxes. You saw what Regulus said in the letter—he called it his 'secret.' I don't think Bellatrix knows what it really is."

"That's helpful," Sirius snorted. "If she doesn't know what it is, how come you know?"

"Do you have any better ideas?" Severus challenged. "Because if you do, I know we'd all love to hear them. It'd be really helpful at a time like this, you know?"

And again with the stare-down. Lily shot an apologetic look at Remus who seemed very uncomfortable. Sirius was reclining in his seat, smirking for some reason, even though it was clear he had no comeback. But he obviously didn't think he needed one.

Lily groaned quietly. "Alright. So, Bellatrix Lestrange may have a Horcrux. What next? What's the plan?"

"I haven't had the time to come up with a plan," Severus said, an edge of annoyance to his tone. "I only just found this out—a few hours ago at most. I can't do everything…"

Lily saw the panic in his eyes as what he has said registered with him. But if had also registered with Lily—and, apparently, Sirius. Both had leapt to their feet, wands drawn.

"If you're trying to suggest that we aren't pulling our fair share in this…" Lily began, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her wand.

"Might I remind you who discovered how to destroy the Horcruxes?" Sirius added, his own wand advancing menacingly closer to Severus's heart.

He held up his hands defensively and leaned away from the two of them.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Remus called out suddenly. Both the wands clattered to the ground and their owners turned to their disarmer in surprise.

"Remus, what—?"

"I didn't think you three had been getting along perfectly," he said, "but honestly—drawing your wands on each other like that? It's absurd. We're all on the same side here."

Lily felt warmth creeping into her cheeks—the telltale sign of her shame. "I've been trying to tell them that—they've been worse than me, really—can't get past their old problems from school…"

Sirius raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "Way to throw me under the bus," he muttered. "But you know what—you're the one who bludgeoned me with a map!"

Lily was about to retort, saying that he'd provoked her and had had it coming, when Remus started laughing.

"Bludgeoned you with a map, eh?" he chuckled. "Do I even want to know?"

Sirius bit his lip as if trying to hold back a smile. "I had paper-cuts all over my face."

The two former Marauders broke into such wholesome, natural laughter that it wasn't long until Lily found herself giggling. And it wasn't long after that that she felt warm tears sliding down her cheeks. The other two had stopped laughing and were now looking at her in alarm.

"Are you crying?" Sirius asked timidly.

"Yes," she said, her laughter sounded shrill and slightly crazed through her tears.

"Well… why?"

She took in a quavering breath and smiled shakily. "I don't know…" She laughed again, as fresh tears rolled down her face. "I'm such a mess."

Remus offered a sympathetic smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It took all her willpower to now break down completely then and there. But she was able to calm herself to the point where her voice wouldn't crack every time she spoke. Remus gave her one last comforting squeeze before his arm fell away from her.

Aberforth cleared his throat awkwardly and the four turned to look at him. Lily felt more than a little embarrassed. She'd forgotten entirely that he was still there.

"Well, I usually close up about two hours ago," he said gruffly. "Do you want a room?"

* * *

><p>It took about a week to devise a plan. They met each day down in the Hog's Head and practically drank the place dry in the process. Lily didn't get much sleep at night, in a room all by herself. Severus also had a room of his own, but Sirius and Remus shared the last vacancy. It seemed they didn't get much sleep either. She could hear them, late at night, talking in low voices. Sometimes she could pick out snippets of their conversations through the thin walls. Though they never named her, she knew that the 'she' they were so worried about was her.<p>

Other times, Sirius would complain about Severus and Remus would come to his defense. These were the loudest conversations; Lily didn't have to hold her breath in order to make out every word. The final discussion topic seemed to be wistful reminiscences about the good old days at Hogwarts. James's name came up a lot. There were the quietest and Lily sometimes pressed her ear against the wall to better hear their whispers.

It was reassuring to hear their voices and their soft laughter as they recalled the highlights of their ten-year friendship. It reminded Lily that James had been real. She'd been so focused on the Hunt that she'd nearly forgotten its purpose.

That morning was the day they were going to put the plan into action. It was far from fool-proof, but it was the best they were going to get. Lily draped the Invisibility Cloak over her shoulders, nerves setting in for the first time.

"What if she sees you?" Sirius asked, for the tenth time since Lily had volunteered for this role.

She sighed. He wasn't going to accept her answer of, 'She won't,' anymore. So, she said, "I don't know. Game over, I guess."

He frowned. "Don't be so nonchalant about it. This is Bellatrix Lestrange we're talking about."

"I know." She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Just don't worry about it. That goes for you, too, Remus."

Remus smiled as she hugged him. "I don't like this; it's like we're saying goodbye."

He was right; it did feel that way to Lily, but she hadn't voiced it. "We'll be back soon," she promised and nodded at Severus, before she dropped the hood over her head. She held onto his arm and the two of them Disapparated from the Hog's Head to the grounds just outside the Lestrange Manor.

Lily let go of Severus's arm and followed him on the short walk to the mansion. She practiced treading silently on the path. When they reached the door, she took out her wand just in case. Severus lifted the heavy knocker and pounded it against the huge door three times. Then he stepped back, nearly running into Lily, but she dodged him. Her heart was already pounding. It was several minutes before the door opened, but when it did there was a man standing there, looking out at them. This caught her off guard—she had expected to see Bellatrix… But maybe it would be best if they could avoid her altogether.

"Rodolphus," Severus said pleasantly. "Can I come in?"

The man seemed surprised, but obliged. Lily slipped in just behind Severus, touching his wrist slightly to alert him that she was inside. The door closed and her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. The house was huge. That became immediately apparent. She hadn't realized just how big it was from the outside. The Horcrux could be anywhere inside… it would take her hours to search all the rooms. She'd probably get lost and never find her way out—and that was preferable to Bellatrix catching onto the presence of an intruder.

Then the women herself came sweeping around the corner and into the entrance hall. She stopped in her tracks, her dark eyes narrowing at Severus. Lily thought that she should slip away now, while she had the chance. She took a couple steps toward the staircase, but feared that she would be heard. So she stayed put.

"Snape?" Bellatrix said sourly. "What do you want?"

"Only the pleasure of your company," he replied, almost sardonically. Lily, smiling under the Cloak, thought that she'd stay to see the show in the very least and start exploring the house a little later.

"I'm not in the mood to entertain guests," Bellatrix said, scowling at him.

"Well, I won't stay long," Severus said. "I just wish to inquire about Lucius Malfoy."

"What about him?"

"Last time I saw him, he wasn't fairing too well. Is he doing better?"

"What leads you to believe I would know?"

"He's your brother-in-law, after all," he said. "Have you heard anything from Narcissa at least?"

"You'd have to ask them," she said. "I don't know why you didn't go to the Malfoys in the first place."

"I only thought that if Lucius was still enduring punishments… I don't want to interrupt."

She appraised him with her heavy eyes. "I see… Well, I don't know anything more than you do. Thanks for dropping by unannounced, it's always appreciated… It's not as if we have owls…"

Severus smiled, in contrast to her irritated expression. "My apologies…" He looked around the entrance hall, as if looking for something. Lily slipped a hand out of her Cloak and gave him a quick thumbs-up. He nodded faintly. "I'll be on my way, then. Have a nice day."

Bellatrix ushered him out the door and closed it firmly behind him. Lily began creeping up the staircase, one by one, painstakingly slowly.

"Why'd you let him in?" Bellatrix hissed to her husband.

"I couldn't have just told him to go away!"

"You could have." Silence. Lily risked a peek behind her—they were glowering at each other. Finally, Rodolphus looked away. Bellatrix had won. "You know I don't trust Snape. He's up to something."

"He's not up to something, that's ridiculous…"

"He is, I know he is… That was really suspicious, showing up on our doorstep for no apparent reason."

"You ever think maybe he just…" Rodolphus trailed off.

"What?" she prompted impatiently.

"Maybe he just wants to be friends."

Another few seconds of silence. Lily froze. She'd have to wait until they started talking again to take any more steps. She held her breath.

"Friends?" Bellatrix repeated. She cackled horribly, allowing Lily to ascend a few more stairs. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, he doesn't exactly get on with anyone else, so…"

"But why latch onto us? I take every opportunity I can to say nasty things to him… or about him to others. I'd always assumed the hatred was mutual." She laughed again, slightly more pleasantly this time. "Interesting theory… but I still think we should keep an eye on him."

The two left the entrance hall, but in opposite directions. Lily let her breath out slowly, her heart still pounding in her chest. She could do this. She climbed the rest of the stairs in several long strides.

Then came the real problem: Where to start.

This place was impossibly huge. There could've been any of the three remaining Horcruxes there. So it might be Hufflepuff's cup, but it might be one of the other two just as easily. In which case, she had no idea what to look for. It seemed that being discovered was the least of her concerns.

Lily started in one room, looking around, opening drawers, but being careful not to displace too many things. Some of the doors were locked, so she quietly cast the Unlocking Charm. Her hopes peaked every time she came across such a room—_there might be something inside, that's why the door is locked_—but many of them were completely empty and none contained anything that could reasonably be a Horcrux. She'd systematically worked her way through the upstairs corridors and rooms. It had taken her at least two hours and she had nothing to show for it. And if she didn't return soon, Sirius, Remus and Severus had vowed to go in after her.

So she made her way to the staircase again and began creeping down, step by step, when Bellatrix walked across the entrance hall beneath her. Lily froze, holding her breath.

"Rodolphus," she called, disappearing down another hallway. Lily didn't move, though, for she could still hear the woman's footsteps. "When was the last time you went to Gringotts?"

She took a few more steps. Hopefully she would be able to get out while they were distracted with a conversation.

"Probably a month ago, why do you ask?" he answered, sounding rather bored.

"Don't you think we should check regularly? Make sure it's safe?"

Lily stopped again, about halfway down the stairs. She leaned against the banister, listening closely.

"I suppose," Rodolphus said. "Is that what you think Snape is up to?" He sounded a little amused, as if he wasn't taking her concerns seriously.

"Don't look at me like that!" she practically shrieked at him. "He seemed really interested when I mentioned it last week."

"Why would he want to rob our vault? Think about what you're saying…"

"I have thought about it," she huffed. "And I'm going to Gringotts on Thursday to upgrade the security."

Lily jumped when Bellatrix came around the corner again and started up the stairs. She froze and held her breath, willing her heart to slow down. But Bellatrix breezed right past her without the slightest hesitation. It wasn't even that close of a call. Once Lily heard a door open and close down the hall behind her, she made a break for it, running down the stairs as quickly and quietly as she could.

The door opening would surely make some undesirable noise, but she couldn't avoid it. She eased it open slowly, just wide enough to slip outside, and then closed it behind her. Then she ran, not caring about how much sound she made. She sprinted off the grounds and Disapparated as soon as she'd cleared the gate.

* * *

><p>Sirius, Severus and Remus breathed a collective sigh of relief when Lily burst into the Hog's Head, flushed and panting. But it didn't take long for Sirius to remember the objective of her mission.<p>

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

Lily shook her head and breathlessly replied, "No, but… I know… where we can… find it."

Sirius exchanged a glance with Remus. He would try to not let his hopes get too high. "Where?"

"Gringotts."

And the hopes were crushed. "The Lestranges' vault? At Gringotts?"

She nodded and collapsed onto the booth.

"What did you do, run a mile?" Remus asked her curiously.

"No, just a little wiped out," she answered.

"Well, get used to it," Sirius said. "Now we've got to figure out how to break into Gringotts. I don't know if anyone's done that and lived to tell the tale."

"We better start planning," Lily said darkly.

"Yeah, first thing in the morning," Sirius agreed.

"No," she said, "I mean _right now_. We've only got until Thursday."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yep, we've got a Gringotts infiltration in the works :) You always need one of those in Horcrux-Hunt fics. But—it will be different than the one DH! (Obviously.) Any predictions? Or other comments on the story so far?**


	17. Gringotts

The day or two devoted to planning was a half-hearted effort. Severus seemed unwilling to ask for help and claimed to have the entire thing under control. Sirius was obviously unconcerned with that would happen if something went wrong and didn't try to hide it.

Lily privately wished that she could take Severus's place, as her adrenaline rush from infiltrating Lestrange Manor was wearing off and she wanted that feeling back. But she never thought for a moment to suggest this—it had to be Severus. It was the only option and it was risky as it was. Nevertheless, she couldn't shake the feeling of uselessness. She hadn't even destroyed a Horcrux yet! Sirius, who had been late in joining the Hunt, had already killed two.

So she had vowed to herself that she would discover the identities of the two unknown Horcruxes and personally destroy them. Perhaps it was a lofty goal, but she felt that she had done nothing to contribute yet. If she didn't do something soon…

"Lily," Sirius said suddenly, yanking her from her thoughts. "He wants the Cloak."

She looked between him and Severus, slow to process what was happening. "Oh, uh…" She pulled the Cloak out of her pocket and put it on the table. Severus reached for it, but Sirius was quick to intervene.

"You're just going to give it to him?" he asked incredulously. "What if something happens?"

"If I have the Cloak, it'll be easier for me to get out of it—with the Horcrux," Severus said. "That is, after all, what the entire purpose is."

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius said dismissively. "I'm just not too eager to risk losing something so valuable…"

Lily smiled sadly, knowing that the value he spoke of had little to do with the practicality of the Cloak, but was much more sentimental.

"So I'm to assume," Severus began, "that losing the Cloak is the most worrying aspect of this. I, of course, am completely expendable."

Sirius straightened up, clearly taking the bait. "Well, if we're being honest here…"

He fell silent as Remus shot him a stern glare. "Just don't," he said tiredly.

The two of them looked at each other, as if they could communicate telepathically, until it was clear that Remus had won.

"Well, I think we're ready," Sirius said. "You'll leave first thing in the morning."

Severus nodded nervously, but didn't mention just how unprepared he was. Lily was worried, too. Had anyone ever broken into Gringotts and made it out alive? Well, she thought, there's a first time for everything.

* * *

><p>Severus waited in Diagon Alley, just outside Gringotts, for nearly three hours. He was sure that he'd just missed her when—Bellatrix strolled directly past. Severus, concealed in the Cloak, trailed behind her. She moved at a purposefully brisk pace. He followed her into Gringotts, taking careful, silent steps.<p>

Once they were off the bustling streets, he was more nervous. Inside the bank, it was much quieter and he feared that the goblins' beady eyes would see him. Luckily, the sharp click of Bellatrix's heels masked the soft padding of his own footsteps.

Everything went well. He hovered a few steps behind her while she signed in. As the goblin led her away, he followed—his presence went seemingly undetected. He was amazed at just how silent he could be went he put his mind to it. He didn't let the Cloak rustle as he treaded along; he only took a breath when necessary and timed it so that it would be covered up by an exchange of words between the goblin and Bellatrix.

Finally, they reached the cart. This would be trickier. But his two companions, unaware of the invisible man trailing him, boarded the cart and left plenty of time and room for Severus to climb on as well. As he sat down, Bellatrix turned toward him, a slight frown on her face. Severus froze and leaned away as the cart lurched into motion. She shook her head and turned away to face forward once more. He let out his breath slowly. After quite some time, the cart slowed to a stop. The goblin and Bellatrix unloaded and Severus was climbing out when he was the woman's hand move to her pocket in a suspiciously subtle way. His first instinct was to freeze again, but—just before she hurled the first curse—he leapt a couple steps away from where she would aim. A red stream of light hit the wall behind him. Bellatrix made a low, growling noise in her throat.

"Madam!" the goblin gasped, flapping his small hands fretfully.

"There's someone following us," she whispered tensely, her eyes darting around.

"There's no one there," the goblin assured her.

Severus had been creeping up behind her all this time, his wand extended, but still under the Cloak. He was being as quiet as he could manage, but he exhaled too loudly and his target spun toward him before he could get as close as he wanted to. A curse narrowly missed him this time, but he quickly retaliated.

"_Stupefy_!"

Bellatrix fell backward, stunned, onto the stone floor. Severus allowed himself a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, before placing an Imperius Curse on the very confused goblin. The creature gave in easily, too stressed to fight it, and led him to the vault. They snuck past a guard dragon that seemed to be blind, as if only turned toward them when the goblin spoke.

"Right this way, sir. Almost there."

The dragon started toward them—Severus flattened against the wall—but soon reached the end of its chain. Severus let out his breath and continued toward the vault. The goblin unlocked the door and let him inside.

Severus, removing the Cloak now, sighed heavily upon seeing the inside of the vault. Everything in it looked valuable enough to be a Horcrux. Would he have to destroy everything there just to find it? But then again… there was a reasonable chance that there wasn't a Horcrux in the vault at all. Luckily, he didn't have to consider this devastating thought for long; he suddenly spotted something small and familiar on the top shelf.

Hufflepuff's cup. His heart beginning to pound in his chest, he edged toward it, never taking his eyes off the small goblet. It seemed to reflect the minimal light in the vault, a shining beacon. Upon reaching the shelf, he began to carefully climb up until the cup was within his grasp. He grabbed it eagerly and never expected what happened next.

The skin of his hand burned painfully, as if scorched on red-hot metal. He released the cup involuntarily and at least twenty more identical goblets sprang forth from it, clattering to the floor. Simultaneously, he fell from where he clung to the shelf and landed on the floor. The other artifacts he'd touched in the process also burned and multiplied, and the Imperius Curse had lifted from the goblin, who had disappeared.

He lay perfectly still, his pulse still racing, and the things in the vault stopped cloning themselves. Careful not to touch anything else, he stood up from the rubble. No sooner had he got to his feet than a curse flew past his face, practically singing his eyebrows.

Bellatrix, now revived, had come to the vault. And she had apparently not alerted the authorities, as she was alone. Severus knew from the snarl on her face that she wanted to deal with this personally.

He ducked out of her sight again and fumbled with the Cloak in his pocket. He had to get it on without Bellatrix seeing it. Once it was draped over him, he felt much more confident and crawled back to the scattered cups on the floor. Bellatrix was still prowling toward the entrance of the vault, but out of sight. She had seen him, though, and he thought for a second that the game was over—he was no longer a spy. He'd blown his cover. He should've kept the Cloak on the entire time! What had he been thinking?

Severus winced as his hand brushed across a large vase; he jerked back before it could burn him, but the damage had been done. Identical vases were appearing out of thin air and bumping into him, continuing the vicious cycle. And he'd blown his cover yet again. Jets of light were mingled in with the multiplying vases, shattering most of them, and narrowly missing him, on his hands and knees and under the Cloak.

But worse things could've happened. In fact, being bombarded with curses worked out quite well. It had destroyed most of the vases and had cleared a path to Hufflepuff's cup and its dozens of look-alikes. He moved toward them, at a painstakingly slow speed. Finally he'd reached them. Then came yet another problem: Which cup was the Horcrux?

Then he had a sudden stroke of genius. He rocked back onto his toes and leaned forward. He prodded one of the goblets and then dove behind a table. Curses flew, just as he'd planned, from a Bellatrix who seemed to be getting closer. Most of the cups she hit shattered and she soon stopped, realizing that she was risking destroying something of Voldemort's. But she didn't stop soon enough—one of the cups she'd hit had not shattered. It had only lifted up and rolled off… right to Severus. Sure that this was it, he took a deep breath and moved over it. He reached a hand down, still completely inside the Cloak, and grabbed it. He ignored the burning of the palm of his hand, clenching his teeth against the pain, and made a break for it as the replications clattered to the floor behind him, leaving a clear trail of where he was and where he was headed.

He sprinted around the tables and shelves, dodging streams of light all the while. Finally the goblet stopped copying itself and he was out the door before he knew it. Not stopping to think, he ran straight for the dragon and then took cover behind it as Bellatrix burst out of her vault, wearing an expression of pure rage.

"_Snape_!" she bellowed.

The dragon stirred and turned toward her voice, its tail nearing taking Severus out.

"I'll find you," she promised. "You might get out of this alive, but you can't escape me forever."

Severus gulped and backed away, into a dark corridor. He wandered for quite some time, his hand hurting worse with each second; the cup and his hand had been burned together and he wasn't brave enough to rip the cup—and some of his skin—off at the moment. Eventually, he came to a similarly wandering goblin.

"_Imperio_," he muttered. The goblin spun on his heel and led Severus to a cart and then to the lobby of Gringotts. Bellatrix was leaning over the desk of one of the tellers, hissing threateningly at him.

"Someone broke into my vault!"

"That's impossible, Madam, you can't break into Gringotts."

"I know exactly who he is and exactly what he took. You will not let anyone out of this bank until we find him."

Severus picked up his pace and was able to escaped the building before the goblins bent to Bellatrix's will—and gave into the threats she was surely piling on. Severus Disapparated as soon as he was outside of Gringotts, not caring about the shock the sudden noise would cause to passersby. He had to get out of there. Every extra moment he stayed endangered him.

Back in Hogsmeade, he returned immediately to the Hog's Head. He was not surprised to see Lily, Sirius and Remus sitting around their usual table and completely alone, apart from Aberforth, who was lurking behind the counter, eavesdropping. The three looked up expectantly and Severus slipped off the Cloak. He was holding Hufflepuff's cup in his hand.

He smiled weakly. "I got it."

Lily jumped up and engulfed him in a quick hug that he wasn't at all prepared for, and then grabbed the cup. He winced as a layer of his skin went with it. Apparently the protective curses had worn off because Lily wasn't burnt and the cup didn't replicate. Severus sighed and sank into a chair, dropping his head to the table.

Lily placed the Horcrux in the middle of the floor and eagerly conjured Fiendfyre that consumed the goblet until it bled a dark bloodlike liquid. She was positively beaming as she admired her work.

"Congrats on your first Horcrux, Lily," Sirius said, grinning. She smiled even wider and placed the dead cup on the table once it had cooled. She pulled out the ring, diary and locket and gathered them together, arranging and rearranging them as if they were a doll collection, or her most prized possessions.

The three men watched her quietly. Finally one of them acknowledged the one previously ignored.

"You look wiped out," Remus noted, nodding at Severus. "What happened?"

"Well, I broke into Gringotts for one," he began bitterly. "I spent a considerable time dodging curses, getting burnt repeatedly and…" He paused and surveyed their expressions.

Lily was flipping through the charred pages of the diary, but it was clear that she was listening, just feigning disinterest. Sirius looked rather bored as he let out a massive yawn. And even Remus seemed less than impressed. No one prompted him to continue his unfinished sentence, and he wondered if he should.

Wouldn't they discard him without a second thought if he was no longer a spy? That was the only reason he had been useful all this time—the only reason they'd kept him around. If they knew he'd lost that, why would they want to put up with him anymore?

But if he didn't tell them now, it would only be a matter of time until they found out. And then they would question his motives for not confessing immediately and the whole thing would be far too complicated.

So he continued after a few seconds hesitation. "And she… saw me."

Everyone's head snapped up at once, as they stared, wide-eyed, at him.

"What do you mean she saw you?" Sirius asked in a low voice.

Severus sighed. "Bellatrix saw me."

"Well, I'd gathered that much!" Sirius snapped. "Why weren't you wearing the Cloak?"

"I was, but I'd stunned her and I guess I thought—"

"You thought you were safe, eh? Never think that for a moment! Never let your guard down!" Sirius seemed to be having considerable difficulties restraining from saying anything more, but he managed it after clamping his teeth down on his fist.

Lily didn't seem all that angry—only sorely disappointed. "So you can't be a spy anymore, huh?"

He shook his head ruefully. "I can't go back anymore. I'll bet Voldemort's plotting my death as we speak."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: More implications of Snape's blunder will be covered in the next chapter; I just had to end this with that line :) We're in the homestretch now! Currently, there'll be 21 chapters, but that number will more than likely increase. I'd estimate no more than 23. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Gringotts infiltration chapter! Took me forever to write it, which isn't the best sign, so… was it any good? Sorry about the long wait for chapters recently, but I'm pretty much posting as I write at this point, with maybe a one-chapter cushion. But I promise about one per week. I have the last two written and hope the finish 18 & 19 over Christmas break.**


	18. The Order of the Phoenix

After the week-long Horcrux-high it seemed that they were slipping back into the inevitable state of despair. And they were too far in to back out now. Not that Sirius wanted to, but it had once been a comforting thought. It was not any option anymore, with Snape as Voldemort's most-wanted, and the Hunt no longer a secret. There were only two Horcruxes left, but they had no idea where to begin the search as they didn't know what they were.

The four of them spent most of each day sitting around their usual table in the Hog's Head, throwing ideas around.

"We could go back to Dumbledore," Lily suggested for the sixth time. "He might know something more, or at least be able to point us in the right direction."

Sirius shook his head. "I think if he knew something, he'd tell us. There'd be no reason not to."

"It's a better idea than sitting around here drinking all day," Snape said bitterly.

"Yeah," Lily agreed. "That's a fair point. We haven't got anything done here for the past two weeks—"

"Week and a half," Sirius corrected.

"Fine," she sighed. "Week and a half. It's still a waste of time."

"And money," Snape added.

Sirius looked to Remus then, knowing that he could tie the vote.

His old friend raised his eyebrows at him. "Don't look at me like that; you're not going to guilt me into siding with you."

Sirius mirrored his expression. "Can I threaten you into siding with me? Or blackmail you, perhaps?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Padfoot, but we both know that I have a lot more dirt on you than you have on me."

An insuppressible smile broke on Sirius's face since he knew how true that was.

"Anyway," Remus continued, "I don't think it could hurt to swing by Hogwarts and pay a visit to Dumbledore. It wouldn't be completely counterproductive."

"Not at all," Sirius said sarcastically before he could stop himself. "Let's just waste time somewhere else, why don't we?"

Remus, elbows on the table, massaged his temples.

"Wondering how it is we put up with him this long?" Snape asked.

Sirius clenched his fist under the table, but refrained from reacting. _Wouldn't want to give them another reason to antagonize me…_ Then he had a sudden idea. A smug look of knowing something the others didn't came across his face. He crossed his arms and reclined again, rocking back onto the back legs of his chair.

The other three apparently had little patience for him at this point.

"Sirius, just wipe that grin off your face and tell us what you're thinking of."

He smiled wider still, but obliged with the other half of Lily's order. "It's not that I object to spending all this time with you three and I certainly don't mind consuming vast amounts of firewhiskey, but… the secret's out now. Voldemort knows that Snape took one of his Horcruxes. He's probably checked up on the others now, and knows that four of them are gone. I wouldn't be surprised if he's making sure the last two are extra safe at this point. It's crunch-time now."

"Is that your big revelation?" Lily asked sardonically. "That we're absolutely screwed?"

"Weren't you just advocating wasting even more time?" Remus added.

"If you'd let me finish…" Sirius waited until he had their undivided attention once more. "Dumbledore could possibly be of some help, but the more people we involve in the Hunt at this point, the better."

Remus and Lily exchanged a doubtful look. Sirius did not appreciate this as he was usually the one exchanging glances. Finally, the two turned back to him.

"What are you getting at?" Lily asked.

The easy smile returned to his face. "I just thought that our old friends from the Order might be helpful."

* * *

><p>"Alright," Lily began, looking over the familiar faces gathered in the Hog's Head. She hadn't seen most of them since the funeral, which seemed so long ago—a previous life. "For the past few months, we—" she gestured to herself, Severus and Sirius, "—have been on a special… mission. And now we need your help."<p>

Alice Longbottom smiled warmly. "We would _love_ to help you, Lily."

"What's this mission?" Mad-Eye Moody asked suspiciously.

"Killing Voldemort," Lily answered. The surprise registered clearly on each of their faces, before it morphed into anxious excitement. "There are two Horcruxes left," she continued. "But we don't—"

"Wait, wait," Moody interrupted. "Two Horcruxes… left? How many did he have to begin with?"

"Six. He had six Horcruxes."

The room hushed and the silence rang in her ears. They were all staring at her in obvious awe.

"So… you've destroyed… four Horcruxes?" Sturgis Podmore asked, his eyes wide. He laughed nervously. "What do you need us for?"

"Because," Lily said, "we have no idea what the last two Horcruxes are."

And again with the silence. Though it was tenser and a little awkward this time.

"And, uh…" Moody coughed uncomfortably. "You think we might know something?"

"Well, it couldn't hurt," Sirius snapped.

"No, of course not," Frank Longbottom said pleasantly. "But do you have any leads or anything?"

"Sort of." Lily glanced to Dumbledore unsurely.

He straightened up in his seat and cleared his throat. "I have reason to believe that one of the two is something that once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw and that the other was Godric Gryffindor's."

"So this is a brainstorming session," Moody said slowly.

"More or less," Lily agreed. "Any ideas?"

* * *

><p>After an admittedly disastrous first brainstorming session, they trudged upstairs and split into the three rooms. Hopefully tomorrow would bring more success, once they had all been refreshed by a good night's sleep.<p>

But it didn't. The day crawled by with absolutely nothing added to the discussion. Lily could tell that everyone was starting to feel frustrated, and they'd only been in the Hunt for a day and a half. She hadn't missed the opportunity to slip in how long _she_ had been in the Hunt, dealing daily with how _frustrating_ the whole ordeal was. Then Sirius joined in, expressing his own frustrations with a less bitter and more humorous tone. It wasn't too long before Severus began telling of all the danger he'd been subjected to and the brainstorm had turned into story-time. And, at the end of the day, no progress had been made, whatsoever.

Lily, lying in one of the beds in one of the rooms, was having considerable difficulty falling asleep. She listened to Sirius's steady, deep breaths from the bed next to hers.

"Remus?" she whispered.

The man on the floor stirred and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah?"

"We have to _do_ something."

"Yeah…"

"Easter Holiday begins tomorrow."

"Already?"

"Yeah. I was thinking… no one is going to come up with something off the top of their head, right?"

"Probably not."

"Well, as long as the castle will be empty, I thought… we should go to the library and do some research—see what we find, you know? There's so many books there, there's bound to be something helpful. I mean, it'd be more productive than sitting around here, recounting our misadventures for days on end… What do you think, Remus? Am I making any sense? Remus?"

Lily squinted through the darkness and saw that he had dozed off, his mouth slightly open and his chest rising and falling gently. She giggled softly and rolled over, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

* * *

><p>The next day, they all made the trek from Hogsmeade up to Hogwarts, and into the school's library. The sight of the rows of shelves holding stacks of old books brought back a flood of memories. Lily recalled the countless hours she had spent among these shelves and tables and books studying—and all the times when James had distracted her from studying. She remembered stubbornly hiding a smile when he stole her quill or parchment. Then, in more recent history, the two would sit in a secluded nook and James would take it upon himself to help her "relax" before an exam…<p>

Lily had trouble refraining from reliving these memories as the Order set about their work. They systematically made their way through the library, shelf by shelf, searching the indexes for mentions of Rowena Ravenclaw or Godric Gryffindor. At the close of the first day, they had assembled a daunting mountain of books. That night, they retired in Gryffindor tower, the House in which most of them had been at Hogwarts.

The next morning and the days following brought an even more tedious task. Over breakfast (and lunch and dinner), they skimmed through the books, looking for any information on what might be a Horcrux. There were at least two false alarms daily. Everyone would get really excited, the air would grow tense and tight, until the theory was shot down by Dumbledore's unquestioned wisdom. Then they all would let out a collective sigh and slump back down at the tables. After each false alarm, it took a little longer to get back to work.

For some reason, it was a tiring task. It was monotonous and frustrating and just plan exhausting… There used to be pleasant conversation at each table as they worked, but now the library was silent, except for the constant, crisp sound of pages flipping.

After four excruciatingly long days, full to the brim of crushed hopes, something happened. Something small.

Alice, across the table from Lily, paused a second too long before turning the page. That was testament to how long they'd been at this, that Lily noticed a change in Alice's rhythm. She still hadn't flipped the page about a minute later, so Lily looked up to her.

Alice's brown eyes were circles as she stared at the book. A delicate hand flew to her parted lips.

"What is it?" Lily whispered. The rare sound of a voice drew everyone's attention. Lily felt eyes on her and heard the scrape of moving chairs and the rustle of moving people. The entire Order of the Phoenix had congregated around their table in a matter of seconds.

"It's probably nothing," Alice said cautiously, but there was hope in her voice. "Only… has anyone mentioned Ravenclaw's diadem yet?"

Heads swiveled to Dumbledore. Lily suppressed the excitement threatening to bloom in the pit of her stomach.

Dumbledore smiled tentatively. "This is a lot of pressure…"

Nervous laughs escaped the members of the Order before they all quieted, urging him to continue with only the desperation in their eyes.

"It's the best suggestion we've had for the past four days, but there is one problem: the diadem is lost. No one's seen it for… Merlin knows how long."

Lily frowned, feeling much like a deflating balloon. "So the diadem can't be a Horcrux, then."

"Or, if it was, we'd never find it," Sirius added glumly, scuffing at the floor with the toe of his shoe.

"No, no," Dumbledore said. "I will not allow a pity-party. Not yet, anyway. If you'll excuse me, I have to speak with someone to either confirm or negate our suspicions."

And with that, the Headmaster spun on his heel and the left the library.

After a moment, Sirius asked, "Is anyone else really confused?"

There was a murmuring of agreement before everyone sat back down at the tables, to anxiously await his return and the news he would bring.

* * *

><p>Dumbledore came back a worryingly long time later. The great, lofty library hushed as he strode toward them, his robes swishing behind him softly. Then he paused, a smile, almost hidden by his white beard, on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.<p>

"I've just been to pay Ravenclaw Tower's resident ghost a visit. And she was moderately difficult, as I expected, but she did confirm our theory. The diadem is indeed one of the Horcruxes."

No one thought to question this revelation as they exchanged awed and relieved glances with one another.

"And, better yet, it is located within the castle."

Lily could scarcely believe her ears. But there was a part of her telling her that this was almost too easy…

"As to where specifically to find it," Dumbledore continued, "she provided us with some rather cryptic advice: 'It is in the place where everything is hidden.'"

Lily frowned, racking her brain for any ideas. "Well, if it's in Hogwarts, that narrows it down substantially, but… the place where everything is hidden? Any guesses to what that could mean?"

She looked from face to face, each equally confused in appearance. Then her gaze fell upon Sirius, who had a distinctly different expression. It was a look that Lily recognized with a jolt.

"Sirius! Do you know what that means?"

"I'm not one-hundred percent sure…" he said slowly. "But if it's the only idea we've got…" He looked around at the blank stares aimed at him. "Well, then. Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Let me be the first to say that this chapter sucks. Now you don't have to leave that in a review! See, making your life easier all the time… And, I know, with the long wait, it should've been something brilliant, but I'm in my **_**I'm-so-close-to-finishing-this-#$%&ing-story-I-don't-even-want-to-try-anymore-and-I'm-so-distracted-and-I-can't-even-write-this-chapter-oh-my-god-I'm-such-a-failure-I-CAN'T-DO-ANYTHING!**_** phase. **

**Yeah, I've been having tons of fun on this end of the internet. So, in my slump, I went ahead and wrote the last two chapters (20 & 21) and I'll confess to being very proud of them and excited to post them, but then there was the problem of the unfortunately necessary 18****th**** and 19****th**** chapters. So, this is the best I can do with my lack of talent/experience and overabundance of ADHD and anxiety disorders and a host of other mental illnesses. **

**So, please don't yell at me, I'm only recently sixteen years old and still painfully sensitive… :P But I promise, if you stick around through one more pre-climax-slump chapter, the last two will be worth the wait. A lot happens, and if you guys have cried in this story so far… oh, just you wait ;) My apologies for the monstrous Author's Note, and I doubt any of you actually read it, but I had some serious explaining to do, and, well… don't unsubscribe me yet!**


	19. Where Everything is Hidden

Lily fought her way to the front of the crowd led by a brisk-walking Sirius. Flanking him was Remus, who seemed just as confused as Lily was.

"Sirius, where are we going?" she asked.

"It's hard to explain, I just have to show you… if it's still there…"

"When did you find it? And how?" Remus prompted, obviously not willing to let it go.

"Remember in third year when James's new broomstick mysteriously disappeared?"

"Yeah, but what does—?"

"Well, see, I borrowed it and then… long story short, I snapped it in half. On _accident_. So I was running all over trying to find a place to stash it—since James had previously made death threats to anyone who _breathed_ on it, so I wasn't just going to fess up—and, anyway, I was running around and this door showed up that I had never seen before. I went inside and…"

Sirius stopped in his tracks suddenly, nearly causing a domino effect. He was perfectly still for a while, staring at the wall. Then he began to mutter under his breath.

"It's got to be here still… It can't've just disappeared… Come on, I _need_ that room…"

As soon as he spoke the words, the blank wall began to transform into a door. Sirius let out a breath of mixed surprise and relief as the onlookers gasped. Once the door was fully formed, he opened it and urged everyone inside.

"This is the place!" he cried. "I can't believe it…"

Lily felt her breath hitch as she took in the mountainous piles of… junk. Cast-offs, garbage, hidden evidence of petty rule-breaking… Meanwhile, Sirius was still explaining how he'd come across this strange room for the first and only time back in his third year.

"I tried to find it again, but I never could. The door was just gone. And I didn't tell anyone, 'cause, well, I didn't want James to know I broke his broom, and if I told you all that I'd been to a magical room that had suddenly faded from existence, well…" He laughed uneasily. "You can understand why I kept it to myself."

Lily was hardly listening to him. The room was enormous and she didn't even want to think about how long it would take to find one item; one item that was probably well hidden. "Alright, everyone," she began in a strained voice. "We're looking for the diadem—a tiara. This seems like the right place, so… divide and conquer."

Once their number had split up, the sheer size of the room seemed less disheartening. Regardless, it took the better part of the day to work their way through the vast accumulation of clutter. Finally, after so long, Lily spotted a glimmer of something golden through the rubbish. She grabbed at it eagerly, extricating it from the mess. Upon seeing the object more clearly, she almost dropped it.

This was it. The diadem. Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem, found once more. And it was a Horcrux. The second to last.

"I found it!" Lily said, but the words came out in a strangled whisper. She cleared her throat and repeated, "I found the diadem!"

Sirius, standing several paces away from her, carelessly dropped a crystal goblet and didn't even flinch as it shattered. He was by her side in moments.

"I'm glad you found it. I kept getting distracted," he said, scrutinizing the diadem. "So, this is it. We better not risk the Fiendfyre in here—let's go out."

He and Lily led the Order through the heaps of debris in the strange room where everything was hidden and out the door. Lily glanced over her shoulder in time to see the door face back into a bare wall, with not so much as a crack to indicate what lay behind it.

In a wide, empty corridor, the Order formed a large circle and Lily placed the diadem on the stone floor, in the middle. They would destroy it together.

"One," Lily said, taking her place in the circle and drawing her wand.

"Two," Dumbledore continued, aiming his own wand.

"Three!" Sirius finished.

Orange flames burst from a dozen wands and converged in the center, completely obstructing the Horcrux from view. Lily counted three more seconds under her breath before withdrawing her Fiendfyre. The others followed her lead. The diadem lay, charred and cracked, in the center of their circle.

"Five down, one to go," Lily breathed, allowing herself a small smile.

"Good work everyone," Sirius added, clapping his hands together slowly. The hollow sound reverberated in the hall. "Back to the library, then."

"Lead the way," Dumbledore invited amicably.

Suddenly, the celebratory mood was dead as they marched back to the library, like a funeral procession.

"Hopefully the last one will be in Hogwarts, too," Lily grumbled.

Sirius let out a bark of laughter and—just as he was about to respond—he froze. Lily followed his gaze out the window and across the lawn. Standing atop the hill in the distance was a legion of dark-clothed wizards, unmistakable even at such length.

Death Eaters.

"Uh, oh," Sirius muttered. "Looks like trouble."

* * *

><p>The next few minutes were a blur as they raced into the Great Hall, shouting protective charms along the way. Once they were satisfied with their temporary safety, they were able to calmly and rationally discuss the situation at hand. Or, at least, attempt to.<p>

"We're outnumbered at least three to one," Alice said fretfully. Of course, she had a child at home. She couldn't afford to risk her life. Lily was overwhelmed with guilt for bringing a mother into this mess.

"But they don't know that we're outnumbered," Remus said, in his well-rehearsed calm façade. Lily recognized it in an instant. His tell was either wringing his hands or pacing. And he was currently doing both.

"They might not even know we're in here," Sirius said slowly, "which would give us a decided advantage. They might only be here to check up on the diadem and try to move it."

"Too late," Lily said with a smirk.

Her two words lightened the atmosphere immeasurably. Remus stopped pacing, but he was still wringing his hands.

"So, what do we do? They're going to try to get in the castle," Sirius said. "Do we wait for them? Do we launch a surprise attack?"

The idea of a surprise attack was fervently debated for a minute, until Severus silenced the Great Hall with a few words.

"They want me," he said softly. "I don't think they're planning to come in; they were just _waiting_ there. We all saw them. And they don't know that any of you are in on the Hunt. They only know about me."

Sirius, as always, was the first to break the silence. "Ah, so this is _your_ fault. Figures."

"Wait, wait," Lily said, shaking her head. "Severus, what are you saying? Are you suggesting that—that you should _sacrifice_ yourself?"

"Not in so many words," he said, a corner of his mouth twitching up. "I've already tried that and it proved to be rather counterproductive. I'm saying: Why don't we take a shot at Voldemort now? There's only one Horcrux left and it'll be easier to get it once he's, er, temporarily immobilized."

Lily considered this for a moment, before turning to Dumbledore. "How much time would it give us?"

"Enough," he answered simply.

"And we may not get another chance for a long time," Severus continued. "See, I'll distract them all for a while—he'll want to know how I found out, of course, and who else knows his little secret—and one of you can come in the Cloak and strike when he's least expecting it." He glanced around the room once before his faze settled on Sirius, who was the one who wouldn't hesitate to point out any fatal flaws in the plan.

But Sirius didn't seem to have anything to say, except, "I'll do it. I'll come with. Lily, the Cloak, please?"

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Are you serious? Wait, don't answer that. Do you honestly think I'd let anyone else do this?"

"Well, I was hoping…"

"Let's go, Sev." She draped the Cloak over her shoulders and waved. "I'll be back. Start thinking about that last Horcrux." She was careful to no say goodbye or let her eyes linger on one of her friends too long. If anyone wouldn't be returning, it'd be Severus. Not that that was an at all comforting thought. In fact, it made her feel substantially worse.

Severus appeared to be attempting meditative breaths as they walked through the castle, side by side. He had very good reason to be nervous, of course. Lily was grateful that she would be invisible. For now, she wanted to make Severus feel better, but she was equally worried.

"Wait if… what if he tried to kill you before I can…?" She trailed off, watching as he grimaced at the thought.

"He won't," he said in a tone of well-feigned confidence. "He's one for… dragging things out."

Lily gulped involuntarily. She reached over and squeezed his hand comfortingly. "You're very brave, Severus. But don't do this just so I'll think so, or so I'll forgive you."

He smiled faintly. "You caught me; I actually couldn't care less about killing Voldemort, I just want you to think I'm _brave_."

No matter how thick he laid on the sarcasm, Lily had the unsettling feeling that he was being sincere. As they approached the entrance hall, she slipped the hood over her head, concealing herself entirely.

"Don't worry," she whispered as they left the castle. "I'll stay close to you."

The Death Eaters assembled on the hill were clearly impatient as Severus quietly and slowly walked to meet them, followed by the invisible Lily. But Voldemort, standing in front of the rest, waiting with a smile growing on his pale face. As she drew nearer, Lily was caught off guard to see a monstrously large snake, coiled at the wizard's feet, twisting in and around itself, its slick scales gleaming. There was something vaguely disturbing about the nature of the snake, although it might have stemmed only from its sheer size. She didn't doubt that it was capable of swallowing a grown man whole. Trying to shake the thought from her head, she edged her way around Severus and closer to Voldemort.

"Severus Snape," Voldemort said, so quietly that she could scarcely hear him.

Severus nodded once, standing straight and tall and staring the man in the eye. He wasn't going to cower—he wasn't going to back down. Meanwhile, Lily was almost within striking distance. She wasn't going to take any chances; she couldn't miss her first shot. She took a few more careful, creeping steps forward when, suddenly, the snake reared its head, its tongue flicking and its beady eyes fixed on her.

_But they couldn't be_, she argued with herself. _The snake can't see me, I'm invisible._ So she continued tip-toeing closer, but froze when the snake uncoiled itself and started toward her, so slowly, but with deadly determination.

Luckily, Voldemort didn't notice his snake's odd behavior. He thrust his wand toward Severus, who winced and was forced to his knees. He didn't seem able to stand back up again. Then Voldemort took a few steps forward, and asked, in the same soft voice, "How did you find out?"

"What, about your Horcruxes?" Severus said defiantly, loudly enough for the assembled Death Eaters to hear.

Voldemort's nostrils flared and his eyes flashed for a moment, before he reassumed a calm mask. "Did Dumbledore tell you? Did he send you as a double agent? Too afraid to do the job himself, I'm sure."

Severus didn't answer either of the questions, but said, "We got all of them, you know. All six."

Lily was startled by his bluff, but Voldemort didn't even appear taken aback. He chortled and threw a barely perceptible glance in Lily's direction, then focused his eyes back on Severus. "You're lying. You haven't got all of them. And you don't even know what one of them is."

Lily was stricken with dread because of Voldemort's fleeting glance at her. She couldn't think of another reason for it, other than that he _knew_. He knew she was there, somehow, and he was just biding his time until he killed both of them.

But something deep in her mind, underneath the panic, told her in a small voice that that wasn't the reason. He couldn't see through Invisibility Cloaks, and she had done nothing to give herself away. Besides, the glance, now that she thought about it, hadn't been directly at her—his eyes had been angled downward, at her feet.

She felt the pressure in her chest building as she raced toward a conclusion, as she pieced it all together. He had been so certain that they didn't get all of them—and that they didn't know what one of them was. Lily slowly lowered her eyes, settling them on the massive snake a couple feet away, looking up at her hungrily.

_The snake… _

She didn't stop to wonder if an animal, a living, breathing animal, could be a Horcrux. She raised her wand, which she'd been gripping at her side. Only a few seconds had passed, and Voldemort was circling Severus, looking as hungry as his snake, and ready to strike. Lily didn't have the time to think—she had to act.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" she hissed, uttering the two words that had started it all, only months ago. The snake lunged at her, but was hit mid-strike. It collapsed, stiff, into the grass.

Voldemort snarled in the purest rage, and abandoned Severus who sprang to his feet the moment his captor turned away. The Death Eaters were in a panic, drawing their wands and eyes darting every which way, trying to find the culprit. Voldemort had run to his dead snake and, finding the situation beyond repair, began hurling curses haphazardly across the lawn. Lily ran to Severus, who looked just as confused as the Death Eaters, and threw the Cloak over him.

He eyes were wide, but his shock was soon replaced by a smile. "It was the snake?"

She nodded and pulled on his arm. They ran from the mob and didn't slow down until they were at a safe distance.

"Should we go for him now?" he asked, out of breath.

"No, they're too on edge. We wouldn't be able to get close enough," she said. "But we can't give them enough time to get away."

They continued sprinting into the castle and to the Great Hall. In a torrent of words, panting between each one, the two explained that the last Horcrux was out of the picture.

"Wait, what was the Horcrux?" Sirius asked, leaping to his feet.

"No time to explain—now or never," Lily said. "We've got to keep them here."

Sirius nodded and grabbed his wand from the table. "So, what do you think, we can take care of the Death Eaters and then take Voldemort together?"

Lily smiled at his enthusiasm, but shook her head. "I don't think so. I have to face him alone."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh, Lily and your "weird thing about not valuing your own life"… I do have to say, this chapter turned out better than I thought it would, considering I had no idea how they would find out that Nagini was a Horcrux, and it was supposed to be way back in chapter 15, but it wasn't happening, and I don't like to force things, but at this point I kind of had to. So, what did you think? Believable or a bit too convenient? The next chapter is the biggie, and I have to confess to loving it—so stay tuned!**


	20. The Master of Death

Severus stood there, not surprised in the least, but still unable to move. He knew that Lily would want to do this—to face Voldemort alone, but he couldn't let her. Not that she would listen to him, but he would certainly try. Sirius beat him to it.

"Lily, please," he said. "You don't have to get yourself killed. We can all go out together and—"

"You don't understand," she said simply. "I have to do this."

He sighed but didn't argue—only looked to Dumbledore hopefully. "Will you talk her out of it?"

The headmaster smiled passively. "I doubt that I'd be able to and there's no reason to."

Sirius stared back at him blankly.

Dumbledore ignored him and turned to Lily. "Have you heard of the Deathly Hallows?"

She nodded skeptically. "It's a children's story, what does it have—?"

"Just hear me out," he interrupted. "I assure you they're very much real. And you've got two of them right now."

"You mean…" She looked at the Cloak in her hands with wide-eyes. "But it can't be—it's just a normal Invisibility Cloak… isn't it?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "A normal Invisibility Cloak? Even if there were such a thing, this is not it. I promise you—in your hands, you hold one of the Deathly Hallows. Around your neck, another."

Lily clutched the ring, which hung from a chain around her neck. "But it was one of the Horcruxes…"

"Yes, it was. But it is more than that."

"It's the… Resurrection Stone?" Her voice was high-pitched and tremulous.

Dumbledore nodded. "And the third… is in this room."

Her head jerked up to gape at him. "The Elder Wand? It's here?"

He nodded. "But there's a slight problem…" A collective gasp could be heard as Dumbledore took out his own wand and scrutinized it. "It's an incredibly temperamental wand, and its allegiance doesn't lie with the one who is about to face—"

Lily acted so quickly that it caught everyone off guard—including the wand's holder. It flew from his hands and she caught it deftly and smiled in a self-satisfied manner.

"Do you think that did the trick?" she asked.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "You always were clever… I was trying not to expect you to do anything, and it hopefully worked, but there's only one way to find out." He stood straighter with his hands by his sides and nodded once at her.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You want me to…?"

"Only jinx me. Something mild, please, I'm not as young as I once was…"

The Order of the Phoenix members laughed in anticipation and gathered around the two of them. Lily sighed. "Sorry," she said, before sending a purposefully weak Jelly-Legs Jinx.

The aging headmaster stumbled to the floor, chuckling, as the onlookers applauded. "I think you're ready," he said once the jinx had lifted.

She nodded solemnly and turned to leave the Room of Requirements. Severus looked on helplessly, his stomach giving a nervous flip. Then, not able to stand it anymore, he started after her.

"Severus," Dumbledore called, "where do you think you're going?"

"I'll be back in a minute," he answered over his shoulder, leaving the room. He spotted Lily, walking slowly down the hall away from him and looking at something in her hands.

"Lily!" he called, jogging to catch up to her.

She turned and smiled faintly at him, slipping the Resurrection Stone back inside her shirt.

When he reached her, he said, "Wait a second, Lily."

She rolled her eyes. "Sev, I'll be invisible and I have an unbeatable wand. Plus, Voldemort's a mortal man now. I think I'll be okay."

"I know you will be," he said. "I know you have to do this by yourself. I understand that."

She frowned slightly. "Then why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to tell you something." He took a deep breath. "I think you already know this, but… I'm in love with you."

Her eyes fell from his, and focused on the floor. "Sev—"

"I have been for years. Really ever since I met you, but I was too young then to… know."

Still not looking up at him, she timidly took his hand. Hers was small and cold. "Severus, I—"

"You don't have to say anything," he said. "I know you don't feel the same way; I never expected you to. I just had to tell you."

A smile appeared on her downturned face. "I'm not going to die, you know…"

"I know," he said, squeezing her hand and brought it to his lips. "I just thought… now's as good a time as any to tell you."

She shook her head a little, her hair falling into her face. "I beg to differ." There was hint of teasing humor in her voice. She finally met his gaze, her eyes bright. "I already had a lot on my mind."

He smiled back at her, and edged a little closer, ducking his head. "Then I have to apologize in advance for this…" With his free hand, he tipped her chin up and kissed her gently. She didn't react—neither pulling away nor pressing into it—for several seconds. They merely stood there in the corridor, heads bent together, completely still. They didn't breathe or move beyond a fluttering of eyelids. Severus felt a warm, salty tear slip into their kiss and that was when the guilt hit him hard in the gut, a familiar sensation, and he pulled away.

Lily drew in a ragged breath and blinked out another tear. Severus reached to catch it, but she backed away, shaking her head.

"I'm really sorry," he said desperately. "I shouldn't have…"

"It's fine," she said with a broken smile. "I've got to go now."

He watched her walk briskly away from him, and couldn't ignore the way her hand flew to her face every few steps to wipe away the tears that he had caused.

* * *

><p>Lily began to run as soon as she was out of Severus's sight. He'd probably hear her footsteps, though, but she tried to forget about it. She burst into an empty classroom, the tears beginning to fall in earnest, and slid down the wall. Her head dropped onto her knees.<p>

She'd felt so strong. She'd been so prepared. Then he had to ruin that for her.

On top of it all, she knew it shouldn't have her this torn up. He was right; she _had_ been aware of his feelings for her for a very long time. It hadn't exactly been a well-kept secret. Nevertheless, she felt weaker than she had in months. But the end was so near. Maybe if she just stuck to her original plan, she could push the entire encounter from her mind.

Lily pulled the chain around her neck, until the Resurrection Stone lay in the palm of her hand. She wasn't completely sure how to work it, so she fiddled with the ring until she was able to turn the stone. Her stomach gave a nervous spasm when she realized she was no longer alone in the room.

Standing before her, were two figures. One, a man, was painfully familiar. Her breath hitched as she picked herself up off the ground. It took her only a moment to recognize the young boy standing next to the man.

James and Harry, returned from the grave.

James looked exactly the same, with his rumpled hair, crooked glasses and easy smile. A hand was placed on the shoulder of his son. Harry was much older than Lily had ever seen him in life—she would've guessed about eleven—but she still felt that she was looking at someone she knew very well. He was the spitting image of James—same face and hair and even glasses—but with Lily's eyes. They were exactly her eyes. It was even more apparent than when he had been a toddler.

They smiled nearly identical smiles at her and she began to cry, harder than she had in months. Her vision blurred and her breath came in racking sobs. A small part of her thought that maybe this wasn't the best idea, but she couldn't bring herself to leave.

"Lily, please don't cry," James said softly, moving closer to her.

"Everything will be alright, Mum," Harry added.

"I'm—I'm—sorry," she choked out, desperately trying to calm herself—with no success.

James smiled. "What could you possibly be apologizing for?"

"I—I'm—"

"If it's about the thing with Snape, well…" He shrugged. "Don't worry about it too much. You've got to finish what you've started now, and you're so close."

She nodded. "I love you," she promised. "I always will."

James grinned just the way he used to, way back in seventh year. It must have been a thousand years ago. "I know," he said simply.

Lily let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "And I miss you… so much."

"I miss you, too, Lily." James's eyes shimmered beneath his glasses. "I'm just so… lucky—so damn lucky—I got to spend as much time with you as I did."

She reached a hand toward his and he met her in the middle, though James was not solid and they were not able to touch. So, they contented to hold their hands near each other's. "I only wish…" Lily began, and let out a shuddering breath. She tried again. "I wish I'd given into you sooner."

James chuckled. "Don't say that. Chasing after you was half the fun. It wouldn't have been nearly as rewarding when I finally got you, otherwise."

She could not keep the smile from her face. "Good to know I was only a prize to be won," she teased, wishing so much that she could playfully shove his arm and ruffle his hair like she used to.

"At first you were," he admitted. After a moment, the coy smile faded from his face. "But then, before I knew what was happening, you meant _everything_ to me."

Lily had never wanted anything more than to bury her face in his neck and feel his arms around her. A few droplets leaked from the corners of her eyes because she knew she could never do that again. "I'm going to avenge your death," she whispered.

"You already have. You've made me so proud, Lily. You're truly amazing."

Lily blushed under his praise and then turned her attention now to her son, who had been watching his parents' exchange with eager green eyes. "Harry," she said softly, willing herself to stay strong. "If only I could've gotten to know you better. I knew you were going to be an extraordinary person one day."

Harry smiled shyly. "Thanks, Mum."

She couldn't stop the tears from falling. "Call me 'Mum' again, please."

"I love you, Mum," he said.

Lily looked between the two members of her family, feeling the strongest ache of nostalgia. "I wish I could be with you again."

"One day, you will be," James said. "But it's no rush. Take your time."

She nodded. "You'll wait for me?"

"Forever," he promised.

Lily smiled and reluctantly turned from them. No matter how long she wanted to stay here, she knew what she had to do. She swung the Cloak around her shoulders and picked up the Elder Wand. She was about to slip the Stone back inside her shirt, where she'd be able to feel it against her chest so that it would give her strength, when the soft voice of her son stopped her.

"I know you feel guilty, Mum," Harry said. "And I want you to know that it's not your fault."

She glanced over her shoulder, and the two of them waved goodbye to her, before fading away, ever so slowly.

* * *

><p>The fighting had recommenced when Lily returned to the grounds. Curses flew, and people on both sides fell to the ground, though none of them seemed to be worse than stunned. Dumbledore and Voldemort were dueling vigorously and a distance from the others. Lily, concealed in her Cloak, made her way toward the two wizards, putting up the occasional spell to help her side, and knocking a couple unsuspected Death Eaters off their feet.<p>

The wand felt great in her hands. It performed better than any other. She threw up a shield in front of Alice, and it sent a vicious curse flying back at its caster. Alice briefly glanced around for her savior, before running off to take another opponent.

As Lily neared Dumbledore and Voldemort, it became apparent that the two were not as equally matched as she'd hoped. And she knew why. The answer was in her hand. She looked down to Dumbledore's wand, the Elder Wand, and knew that it was time to act. She had everything she needed: the Wand with which to attack, and to augment her confidence, and possibly even to taunt Voldemort with if she got the opportunity; the Cloak for protection, and for the element of surprise or to make a quick escape if need be; and the Stone for strength, courage and a reason to fight—a reason to put her own life on the line.

Without another moment's hesitation, she whipped the Cloak off. The grounds fell silent almost immediately.

The fighting ceased all around her. Everyone seemed to hold their breath. Voldemort's clear surprise morphed into a vicious sort of a satisfaction. He stalked closer to her and they began walking in a circle, very slowly, never taking their eyes off each other.

"Hmm," Voldemort said in a patronizing tone. "You look very familiar…"

"You know who I am," Lily spat.

"Yes, you're right, I do," he said, unfazed. "You're the Mudblood whose family I slaughtered."

Her hands trembled in rage, her nostrils flaring as blood rushed to her face. "Why so bold, Tom? I'd watch it if I were you."

He raised his eyebrows. "Really, now? And why is that? You're the one who is about to be killed. But don't worry—you're only minutes away from being reunited with your blood-traitor husband and your little boy."

"You can't kill me," she scoffed.

"Can't I?" he challenged. "I'm the only reason you're here right now. I should have known this would happen—it's what you get for showing mercy, I suppose."

"I could kill you just as easily as you could kill me. More easily, in fact."

Voldemort appeared startled for a fraction of a second before he was able to compose himself. "That is what you think."

"That is what I _know_," she insisted. "Severus wasn't the only one who knew about your Horcruxes. And the cup and Nagini aren't the only ones that have been destroyed."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes to red slits, but didn't respond.

"We've got all of them. The diadem, the locket, the ring and the diary. They're all gone. You're a mortal man once more. There's nothing to keep you from dying when I strike."

A murmur broke out among the watching Death Eaters. Voldemort glanced over at them fleetingly and quickly returned his glare to Lily. "You're bluffing."

"I'm not," she replied calmly. "But you don't have to believe me. You'll find out soon enough."

He laughed a wild, crazed laugh. "You think that you can beat me in a duel?"

She allowed a small smile to come to her lips and nodded once.

His eyes widened for a moment. "Even Dumbledore couldn't take me! And you think… a worthless Mudblood like you…" He laughed again, but there was a hint of desperation in his voice.

"My blood is completely irrelevant," she said shortly.

Voldemort cackled. "Have I offended you?"

"Look at the wand in my hands," she ordered, taking charge of the direction of the conversation.

His eyes flickered down to the Elder Wand and back up to her face. "And what of it?"

"Have you heard of the Deathly Hallows, Tom?" she asked, mimicking his patronizing tone.

He made no response, neither verbal nor physical, to indicate an answer.

Lily continued regardless. "Have you heard of the Elder Wand? Legend claims that its owner can never lose a duel."

"I don't care about legends!" he shrieked.

"Well, you should. This one happens to be true. And this wand… it is the Elder Wand."

The utter silence was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. She could almost see a shadow of doubt cross Voldemort's pale face and crimson eyes.

"Well," he said softly. "Let's see your fairy tales in action."

Lily was ready—completely prepared. It was as if time slowed down. She saw Voldemort's mouth form two distinct words, three syllables each, but she barely heard them over the sound of her pulse and the blood rushing in her ears.

She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that Killing Curses could not be blocked with a Shield Charm. But instinct dominated knowledge and she cast a Shield with the supposedly invincible wand.

The green jet of light collided with her Shield and bounced back, returning to its originator. She saw Voldemort's eyes widen in genuine fear for a split second before he was hit by his own curse. He crumpled to the ground.

It was over.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: … I feel like saying anything might ruin the effect, but… What'd you think of the Sev/Lily kiss? Of the Resurrection Stone scene? And, of course, Voldy's death? One more chapter :D We're almost there! Predictions? **


	21. Epilogue

Time had returned to its normal pace once more, but to Lily it was dizzying. She saw the Death Eaters flee, their loyalty apparently as dead as their leader. She could see that there were casualties on both sides, but her head was spinning too much to notice much else. She stumbled back into the castle, almost unnoticed, eager to escape the chaos.

She returned to the abandoned room where everything was hidden. She wandered among the stacks of discarded possessions and hidden evidence of petty crimes. Once she was fully immersed in the room, far from the exit, she pulled the Stone out again. She inhaled deeply and turned it once. Nothing. She turned it twice. The familiar yet ghostly outlines of James and Harry faded into existence a few strides in front of her.

Lily smiled in relief, but then she realized something was wrong. They hadn't been solid before, but now they were even less substantive. They seemed to fade in and out of focus as she watched them.

"James?" she whimpered. "Harry?"

She could see their lips moving, but the sound was distorted as if they were speaking to her from underwater. She could feel the hot tears beginning to fall from her eyes. She twisted the Stone again and again, watching in desperation as James and Harry got clearer and more definite in from, only to fade out to near nothingness again.

Letting out a frustrated scream, she began to pound the ring on the floor. "Useless thing… Doesn't even work…" She quieted for a moment. James and Harry, flickering in and out of clarity, gave her curious and slightly amused looks. "Please," she pleaded, looking back and forth between them rapidly. They didn't seem to be able to hear her, as they continued smiling. Harry stood up on his tiptoes and whispered something in his father's ear and they both laughed. "Please," she repeated. "Just five more minutes. Just one minute—just thirty seconds! I'll do anything. Please."

A gentle hand on her shoulder made her jump. Her heart now pounding, she whirled around to face the last person she'd wanted to see. She sighed; she hadn't heard anyone come in. How much had he witnessed of the last few minutes?

"Lily," Severus said softly.

He sat down next to her on the floor and didn't say anything else for quite some time. She stared at the ring in her hands, wishing that he would leave.

"What's wrong?" he asked in such a kind voice that she forgot her previous decision to be distant to him.

"They won't come back," she muttered, fresh tears burning in her eyes.

"Ah," he said, his gaze falling to the Resurrection Stone in her hand. "You were amazing, Lily," he told her. "You did it. I can't believe I ever doubted you. You really did it."

She smiled faintly. The magnitude of what had just happened hadn't yet sunk in, and she honestly didn't want to think about it. "Why won't they come back, Sev?" she asked, looking over to where the barely visible James was ruffling Harry's hair. They didn't seem to be able to see Lily, and Severus wasn't able to see them—he'd just known what Lily was talking about.

"Well," Severus said, leaning back against a shelf. "I think it's because you don't need them anymore."

Lily glanced up in shock. She hadn't expected an answer beyond 'I don't know' and she couldn't make any sense of the one she'd gotten. Severus looked back at her evenly.

"But…" she began, "…but I _do_ need them. I need them so much it hurts."

He seemed to consider her words, weighing them in his mind. "I think you know that you can't have them back forever. I think you know that you'll be able to move on with your life—that you've known this for quite some time. But seeing them again brought back the memories and you thought about what could've been, and you're aching for that. But you don't need them back in order to survive. You've done what you needed to do and you know that you have to move on now and that hurts." He paused for a moment, giving her a searching look. "At least, that's what I think."

She nodded, still letting everything register. "I think that you're probably right," she said after a while. "Thank you for that and for… everything."

He grinned. "The pleasure is mine, I assure you."

She bit her lip, not letting herself smile as she remembered the first time he'd said that to her—in the midst of the Hunt, in the tent, right after Sirius had left… a lifetime ago.

"Are you going to be alright?" he asked her, leaning over to catch her eye.

She nodded again. "Yeah, I think so. Eventually, anyway. Do you mind… giving me a little… time alone?"

Severus stood up immediately. "No, not at all."

He left the room, leaving her alone again. She made a few quick decisions. She would give the wand back to Dumbledore—he would just have to disarm her when she wasn't expecting it—and she'd keep the Cloak. But the Stone… It was terribly tempting to her, but she reminded herself that it had once played host to a portion of Voldemort's soul. This was disgusting enough to convince her to carry through with her plan.

She turned the Stone a final time. James and Harry disappeared completely. Then she closed her eyes and lobbed the ring as high and as far as she could. She heard the distant sound of it landing somewhere in front of her. It took all her willpower to turn away; therefore, she had no willpower left to stop her from running in desperation to where she had thrown the ring. She began tearing through piles of books and furniture until her fingers bled.

Then, all at once, she stopped herself. She held her head up high, retaining some degree of dignity, and turned on her heel. She marched out of the hidden room without a backward glance.

She didn't turn around until she was back in the corridor just outside the room. Then she allowed herself to stop and watch the door to the secret place close up behind her and then disappear into the wall.

"I can't go back," she told herself firmly.

But, in truth, she could go back if she wanted to. She could go back into the same room and search for hours until she found the ring. She might even get a chance to speak to James and Harry once more.

But Lily didn't allow herself to be tempted by the past. The door had closed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Super short epilogue :P What did you think of the end? Do you think Lily and Severus might happen in this AU? To be honest, I don't know myself… And what did you think of the story over all, from start to finish? What was your favorite part? Thanks to all of you for reading this all the way through! It means a ton to me :) If you're interested, and you probably aren't, I will be taking an indefinitely long break from dark-AU-novels, so you can expect some rom-coms and short stories coming soon! (Marauders and NextGen!)**

**One last: THANK YOOOUUU! **


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